Coming Home
by Kinz
Summary: Ginny runs away to Muggle America and becomes a famous author. When an attack on her apartment building forces her home, she is forced to adjust to a world she never wanted to be part of again. Better than it sounds. COMPLETE
1. Rising Tempers

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter, nor do I want to. Draco Malfoy, yes. Snape, maybe (but not the book six Snape). Harry Potter, no.

w00t! I started this a long time ago, and I'm_finally_ done. As in, I'm done with the whole fic and onto the (possible) sequel. The chapters DO get better (I like from chapter 5 on), and they get much longer. I promise.

I started this before HBP, so it'll stay mostly AU. I did kind of sneak in something in a later chapter, though. You'll know when you get to it. THERE WILL BE NO ROMANCE IN THIS FIC! NONE WHATSOEVER! The sequel (assuming I write it) might, but not this fic. Don't flame me. I'm warning you now. No HARRY/GINNY ship going!

This is a prologue. It's short (but sadly enough, longer than one or two of the next couple chapters). Deal with it. This is dedicated to Li because she was so against this fic in the first place (back when it _was_ a HPGW fic). This is to show her that it's not a romance fic, and that I can write a non-Ginny/Draco fic (although the sequel may be... I haven't decided yet. -blushes-)

* * *

"No. No, it's a stupid idea. I won't do it," a petite red-haired young woman said angrily. "I won't." 

"But Ginny…" a black-haired boy with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead said urgently, "Ginny, this is crucial to the outcome of the war! It could mean the lives or deaths of millions of people!"

"And am I to be just a tool, Harry Potter?" Ginny hissed. "A tool to be used and then tossed to the side so that _you_ can defeat him and take all the credit?"

Harry stared at her, lost for words. She scowled at him, ignoring the roomful of people staring at them.

"Oh, nothing to say, huh, Harry? Can't deny that's what you had in mind-"

Harry found his voice, interrupting her. "Ginny, that's not what I had in mind at all. Come on, you know me better than that."

"Oh, of _course_ I do!" Ginny said, sarcasm dripping from her voice as thick as honey. "Of course I do, Harry. But I also thought I knew you better than to think you'd be telling me to not only get back that damn diary, but to _write in it_ as well!"

"It's necessary for the outcome of the war."

"Oh, and what happened last time means nothing, then? Setting the basilisk on those students? Me almost getting bloody KILLED wasn't enough warning not to take it up again?"

"Ginny-"

"Oh, I'm sure if it had been Ron or Hermione down there in the Chamber, you'd think twice about trying to reawaken that poisoned, inked-up, enchanted book."

Ginny tossed her hair and crossed her arms, waiting for Harry's reaction.

"Ginny, stop it and think reasonably-"

"Me? _Me_, think reasonably? You're the unreasonable one! You're the one who thinks he's got the best idea in the world, when it involves something that killed someone years and years ago, and petrified your best friendwhen you were twelve! Not to mention, almost killed _me_! I know what writing in that book can do, and I won't do it!"

Harry just gaped at her; however, both a bushy-haired young woman and an old, old man with a beard long enough to tuck into his belt stepped forward.

"Ginny, listen to yourself! You said you would do anything for the Order; this is one of those times when we need you the most. Please, Gin, do this. It means life or death for so many people," the woman said.

"I'm listening to myself; it's you who's not listening to me! Do you know what that bastard did to me? How much he fucked with my mind? This isn't some ordinary Death Eater we're dealing with; it's Tom Riddle, Lord Voldemort himself! You don't know what he's capable of, even at the age of sixteen!"

Then Dumbledore started talking. Ginny tuned out, catching only a few phrases such as "we are at war" and "we all must make sacrifices". At long last, he stopped talking and surveyed Ginny over half-moon spectacles.

"And what do you say to that, Miss Weasley?"

Ginny shrugged. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch all of what you said."

"Ginny!" her mother scolded. "You're acting like a child!"

Ginny fixed her gaze upon Mrs. Weasley. "Mother, I am acting like a civilized adult."

"Like hell you are!" a freckled, ginger-haired young man snorted. He quieted under his mother's glare.

"Perhaps we should all sleep on this," Dumbledore said so cheerfully that Ginny wanted to smack him. She shook her head.

"No. I've made my decision, and my decision is no. I will not steal back that bloody diary in write in it, just asking to be possessed and almost killed again, assuming it actually works, considering Harry stuck a basilisk fang into it. There have got to be other ways to locate Voldemort" –Ron flinched- "than his old diary. If you don't have one, think of one. Oh, don't give me that look, Hermione; you would do the same in my place."

Harry was apparently feeling rather lonely, as he pushed his way back into the conversation.

"Ginny, you've _got_ to do this. There are things going on here that you don't know about, things that could be greatly influenced by your decision."

"I have _got_ to do nothing. I'm telling you it's a stupid plan. The diary was destroyed, as was that particular section of Voldemort's –oh, don't flinch, Ron- soul. I'm not risking my life, and the lives of all of you, to find out. He may not have a basilisk this time, but he's smart; he'd think of something."

"That's why you're here, Ginny. You know him; you can help defeat him," Hermione said. "Please, Ginny. You've never let danger stop you before."

"This isn't about danger. Asking me to do this is like asking Harry to get another mother who would die for him so he would have protection from Voldemort again. You _shouldn't do it_."

"That's completely different," Harry hissed. "A mother can never be replaced."

"Neither can innocence, Harry."

"That's completely different," Harry repeated.

"Oh? How so? Losing your mother is worse than losing my innocence? They're both irreplaceable things that one shouldn't live without. I lost a lot down there, and I don't intend to lose more."

"Ginny, we've _all_ lost a lot. This is a war; we're going to lose things! Look at Fleur! Her whole family was murdered because the news that she was married to Bill got around to Voldemort! _I_ lost my whole family because that traitor told Voldemort about the prophesy and my parents' best friend told Voldemort where we were hiding!" Harry said angrily.

"Well, I'll agree that that's awful, but that doesn't justify writing in that fucking diary! You could let Tom Riddle out again, for all you know, and then there'd be _two_ Voldemorts running around murdering people! How would you feel then? You'd have double to kill, and double to kill you. Not to mention the number of deaths on _your_ hands. Do you think Sirius would have wanted you to do this? Do you really think he'd want to take this risk and risk having thousands, millions more people die because you made a stupid decision?"

Ginny had played the trump card, and she knew it. So did everyone else, who winced. Harry's face grew red and Ron had to run up and grab the back of Harry's robes in order to stop Harry from attacking Ginny. Hermione ran in between them, looking frightened but irritated.

"Stop it, both of you! You're acting like schoolchildren, taunting each other! You-" Hermione was cut off.

"I don't care!" Harry roared. "I want her out! Out! Out of the house! Out of everything!"

"You don't know what you're saying, mate," Ron said, but Ginny interrupted.

"No, I quite agree. I'll leave if that's what His Royal Highness wants. But this is permanent; there's no finding me once I'm gone. Last chance to apologize, Harry Dearest."

Harry just stared at her as if he didn't understand what she said. His face was still red and Ron still had to grab the back of his robes.

"Good," Ginny said. "Anyone who wants to stand in my way can kiss my arse."

She ran upstairs. Hermione, looking startled, ran after her and caught her arm on the way up the stairs. Ginny yanked it away.

"What?"

"Ginny, don't go. Harry doesn't know what he's saying. You don't know what you're saying, for that matter. Really, it'll be better in the morning. Sleep on it."

"Hermione, I love you like the sister I never had, but if you say one more word about that to me, I will hex you."

Hermione shut up, looking frightened and wary of the new Ginny. They reached Ginny's room and Ginny waved her wand lazily. All her belongings packed themselves neatly in her shabby old trunk and the trunk levitated. Ginny grabbed her broom and her trunk and grinned at Hermione.

"Bye, 'Mione. Maybe I'll see you again sometime."

Hermione looked close to tears. "Ginny, please don't go. We'll find you, you know, and you'll have to come back. You have to."

"I'm not going to be found. You won't know me if you see me. Bye, Hermione, for the last time."

And with that, Ginny bewitched her trunk to be feather-light, shrunk it, put it in her pocket, mounted her broom, and zoomed out the window. Hermione watched her go, a tear slipping down her face as the rest of the Order burst into the room, Harry in the lead. Hermione turned to them, her face pale.

"She's gone."


	2. Lockets and Nightclubs

**Disclaimer:** Ugh, do I have to put these in every chapter? It's the second chapter and I'm already tired of them! Cammie's mine, although the name isn't. The names in this story that aren't from Harry Potter (or Laura) are from the book Rock My World by Liza Conrad. Great book; you should all read it.

Thank you all so much for the reviews… I'm afraid that the rest of the story won't meet up with your expectations. The first few chapters don't have much to do with anything with the wizarding world, but there are links… I promise. The wizarding world DOES come into play, very much so, and there WILL be more original characters.

To clear up a few things: Livy is Ginny's name in the Muggle world. You can't expect her to go with her real name, can you? Her name is Livy James and that's how I refer to her for the next couple chapters. Get used to it. Second, she isn't just any writer; she is a famous, J.K. Rowling-like writer with that kind of international fame. Yes, I'm exaggerating a little bit on the publicity and stuff, but I needed to get the point across with how, well, famous she was. OK, that's all. Enjoy.

* * *

----FIVE YEARS LATER----

"Livy!"

A brown-haired, grey-eyed woman turned around to face the speaker. The speaker was a beautiful (in many guys' opinions), blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman. A classic beauty.

"Livy, the plane's leaving in five. Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Livy sighed. "I just don't want to go. London was my hometown, or close enough, and I had bad experiences there."

"Come on, Livy, I'll be there. How bad can it be?"

"Bad."

"Chin up, Liv. Your best friend is coming with! We'll have loads of fun hitting clubs and strip bars-"

"I'm NOT going into any strip bars, Cammie, no matter what you say."

"You will, but there's no time to persuade you. C'mon, we have a plane to catch."

Livy allowed herself to be dragged onto the plane without too much complaining, ignoring the stares and whispers she got from the people on the plane, particularly the children and teens.

When they got to their seat (economy class; Livy wouldn't use her money on something as frivolous as first-class seating on a plane), Cammie immediately pulled out a book and smirked as Livy rolled her eyes.

"Gods, Cammie, do you have to read my book every bloody time we go anywhere?"

Cammie cackled. "Livy, you just spoke… British! I thought you hated England!" As an afterthought, she added, "And yes. It's good publicity, and it's a really good book."

"Shut up."

"Fine," Cammie said, mock-offended. "Fine then. If you don't want me talking, you can be quiet too!"

She and Livy looked at each other and started laughing. After they got a few glares from nearby passengers, they stopped and Cammie turned back to her book. Livy rummaged around in her carry-on bag and finally came up with a golden locket with a single tiny diamond sparkling in the center of the heart. She flipped it over and read, for the gazillionth time, the tiny engraving on the back.

_To Ginny Weasley, for our one-year-anniversary. Your smile sparkles like this diamond. Love, Harry._

Livy smiled sadly and then stowed it away in its case and pulled out a photo album.

There were pictures of a red-haired family: six boys of varying ages, a girl, and a father and a mother. There were also pictures of a bushy-haired girl and a boy with messy black hair and green eyes. The boy was most often pictured with the red-haired girl, his arms frequently around her.

Livy pulled the last picture out of the clear pages protecting it and studied it. It was the only Muggle picture, Muggle only in case a non-magic person spotted it. On the back was written in an elegant script, _Ginny and Harry, Ron and Hermione's wedding. Could a wedding be coming up for them?_

Livy bit her lip, feeling her eyes get hot and wet. Five years had gone by, five years too long… but she wouldn't go back now, no, not when she had all this built up.

"Livy?" Cammie's voice shocked her back into reality. "Livy, are you OK?"

Livy swiped at her eyes and tried to hide the picture, but Cammie was too quick. She snatched the picture and looked at it. She then turned it over and read the back.

"Livy, what's this? Who's Ginny and Harry? And why was it making you cry?"

"It's a photograph, Cammie. Ginny was… my sister, and Harry was her boyfriend, my best friend."

"And why does it make you cry?" Cammie asked in a soft voice; people were staring.

"They died," Livy lied. It wasn't a full lie; she had no idea if Harry was still alive (Voldemort wasn't big in America yet, so Livy had no idea if Harry had killed him or had died, or was still in hiding and planning), or if Ron and Hermione were still alive. Cammie gasped.

"I'm so sorry, Livy… here," Cammie gave the photo back. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry."

"It's OK," Livy said, giving a small smile while tucking the photo album, plus the photo, back into the drawstring bag. "It just hurts to see them; they died only five years ago."

The same time that the Ginny had died and become Livy James.

"How did they die?" Cammie asked in a horrified whisper. Livy smiled wanly.

"They were killed, murdered by a serial killer. He's still at large, I think, but I haven't been to England since then." Truth.

"Oh my God… that's horrible," Cammie gasped.

"That's why I had to leave. I couldn't deal with it right then, and I'm still not sure if I can deal with it now."

"I'll be there for you, hun," Cammie said. "You can always talk to me about anything."

_Yeah, right, anything_, Livy thought. _Everything except what really matters._

Which, of course, was the fact that they were going into a war zone where it was possible, but not probable, that she would meet some of her old friends and colleagues.

The remaining eight hours of the flight passed by rather well. Cammie read her book and Livy read a book, slept, and sleepily signed a copy of her book for a giggling teenage girl.

At long last, the plane landed and Livy and Cammie exited the plane with the rest of the crowd.

Livy took a look around, getting used to the fact that she was back in London, in Heathrow Airport. She had never actually been to Heathrow, but just being in London was scary enough.

She didn't have much time to reflect, though, as a group of teenage girls behind Livy and Cammie suddenly swarmed them, shoving pieces of paper into Livy's hands and asking for autographs.

With a resigned sigh, Livy signed the girls' papers and took a picture with the whole group of them before sending them off to show off and brag to their friends. Cammie was smirking when Livy turned to her again.

"What?" Livy asked. Cammie shook her head amusedly.

"You should've seen the look on your face, Livy. It was priceless. Anyway, you'd better get used to attention. The main reason for this tour is publicity. You're going to sign books at six different locations. Your hand is going to be sore as hell, and your cheeks will hurt from smiling incessantly. It's gonna be tough out there, so get used to the fame."

Livy rolled her eyes. "Can we go now? We're going to hit rush hour at customs."

Just as Livy predicted, the customs line was extremely long. By the time they had picked up the luggage and caught a cab, it was twelve and a half hours since they had left the O'Hare Airport in Chicago

When they got to the hotel, Livy could only stare. Although it probably wasn't the grandest in the city, it was still pretty darn nice, especially compared to what Livy was used to, with her tiny apartment and shabby (but cozy) childhood house. Cammie laughed.

"It's only a hotel, Liv. C'mon, let's go to our room."

Livy followed her, ignoring all the whispers as she passed people in the lobby, as Cammie got their keys and led Livy up to their shared penthouse. The penthouse, in Livy's opinion, was the most spectacular room she had ever seen. It was done in red and gold, and it immediately calmed Livy's nerves. Red and gold had been Gryffindor colors back at Hogwarts, and although it reminded her of the argument, it also reminded her of all the good times she spent at Hogwarts. As Ginny Weasley, Auror-in-training and member of the Order of the Pheonix.

Cammie nudged Livy. "Livy, snap out of it."

"Huh? Oh. Yes'm."

"Good. Come on, put your things away. We're going clubbing."

"What! The first night?"

"Yep. Hurry up; it's late enough already and we have to find a good club."

"…"

"Come ON or I'll put away your clothes FOR you!"

"You do that," Livy smirked. "Go ahead."

Cammie rolled her eyes and rummaged through Livy's suitcase, eventually pulling out a halter top and jeans decorated with rhinestones. "This is what you're wearing. Come on, put it on; we can put the rest away later."

"But-"

"Now, Livy."

"Then go away for a bit; I want privacy while I change."

Cammie obediently stepped into the bathroom and closed the door, whistling while Livy reluctantly pulled on the jeans and the halter top. When Livy was done, she knocked on the bathroom door and got Cammie out, and fixed her hair in front of the mirror. When they were both ready, they exited the hotel, deciding to walk to the nearest club.

When they reached it, they went to the front of the line. The bouncer let them in after one look at Livy and asking for her autograph. Livy, rolling her eyes, signed a piece of paper he had in his pocket.

Once they were inside, Livy clung to Cammie's arm. "Cam, I've never been to any of these before…" Only one wizarding bar in Diagon Alley, and that didn't count.

Cammie raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me that, despite the fact that you're 23 years old, you've never been to a club?"

"Yep. Never been to one of these."

"Well, then, I'll have to introduce you to the good life," Cammie said, smirking as she pulled Livy towards the bar.

"Two martinis, please," Cammie said to the bartender who nodded and turned away to make the drinks. Cammie pulled a ten dollar bill out of her purse before scowling and searching deeper into her wallet. "Crap, Liv, I don't have any English money."

Livy sighed and pulled out some money. She shoved it towards the bartender, who raised an eyebrow but took it. He returned a few seconds later with change, which Livy pocketed.

The two stayed at the bar for a while, finishing their drinks, until Cammie tried to pull Livy to the dance floor.

"I don't dance!" Livy protested. "I'd make a fool of myself in front of everyone here."

"Hmm, you're right… just kidding!" Cammie said, laughing at Livy's mock-offended glare. "Seriously, though, I'm going to find a nice guy for you to dance with."

"You will do no such thing!" Livy exclaimed. "You're going to go dance, and I'll order another drink for me."

"What, I'm going to let the world-famous author of a bestselling book get drunk and make a fool of herself _that_ way? I'm supposed to be watching out for you, Liv, and I can't do that if you're not dancing."

"I wouldn't get drunk. Besides, I asked you to come with me because you're my best friend."

"Yeah, right. Why didn't you invite Nick Hoffman, then? He's more your friend than I am."

Livy blushed, rolled her eyes and smacked Cammie. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Suuuuure he's not."

"Oh, shut up. I don't have to justify myself to you."

"OK, well, if you don't have a boyfriend, you shouldn't mind dancing with a guy."

"Well, I do mind. Deal with it."

"Please?"

"No! Next thing you know you'll be asking me to do a strip tease on the table!"

"Well…" Cammie said mischievously.

Livy smacked her again. "Cammie Wilson! Stop it!"

"Okay, okay! Just don't hit me again."

"Deal."

The two stood there for a few minutes when Cammie broke the silence in between the two. "So what do you want to do?"

"Really? I'd like to go home." Livy was looking around at all the people with uneasiness. "I really don't like being around people in London."

"Why not?"

Because," Livy said, turning to face Cammie, "I am from here, I left on not very good terms, and I would really prefer not to run into anyone that I know."

"Come on, live a little! What are the chances that someone you know will be here and recognize you?"

Livy, who had been scanning the crowd, suddenly gasped. There was no mistaking the platinum blond hair and the black robe and mask. She grabbed Cammie's arm. "We've got to go."

"Why?" Cammie asked lazily, squinting into the crowd. "And why is that guy wearing a robe and a mask?"

"That's why we have to go. He's got a… gun, and he's murdered before." Well, it was true. He was a Death Eater, as everyone in the wizarding world knew. And why would he be there other than to kill?

Cammie stared at Livy. "How do you know? What's his name?"

"His name's Draco Malfoy and I went to school with him. He was a year ahead of me. Now _run_!"

What disturbed Livy most was that, when she looked at Malfoy for the last time, she saw that his head had snapped up at the sound of his name and he was looking directly at her. She looked around to see (and hear) other people in black cloaks and masks. Her eyes widened.

"Come _on_, Cammie!" she hissed, yanking her friend to a run. Cammie tripped a few yards out of the club. Livy groaned and started to pull Cammie up, but then dropped to the ground as a red light shot inches above her head.

_Stunning spell…_ Livy thought distractedly. "Come ON, Cam! Get up! We have to go, NOW!"

Cammie stumbled to her feet, looking terrified, and the two friends ran off in the direction of the hotel, dodging one green beam of light.

When they got back to their room in the hotel, Cammie turned to Livy. "Explain."

"I can't. Really. Suffice it to say that they would have killed us if we had stayed, and that they'll have killed plenty of people in that club. It'll be on the news tomorrow."

Cammie glared at her, but took her pajamas to the bathroom and closed the door. Two minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom, pajama-clad and makeup-less. "I'm going to bed."

"Go ahead," Livy said, going into the bathroom and changing into her black pajamas. When she came out, Cammie was asleep in her bed. Livy climbed into her bed and turned out the lamp attached to the wall above her nightstand, but she didn't fall asleep for a long time. When she finally let go of her thoughts and worries about being in London again, it was for one reason only:

The first book signing was the next day.

* * *

OK, from now on updating might be a bit spotty. It takes time to update (for me anyway; I'm slow at everything) and school starts tomorrow. I do have it all written, but I have to edit the chapters and add author's notes and stuff like that. I'm working on the sequel, though. I even wrote through an Imax film for it! (I had seen it before, and I had the notebook with me, so I wrote.) Sorry. 


	3. Signing Number One

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter, thank God. Imagine the pressure on Rowling to write a perfect book 7!

SORRY FOR THE SHORTNESS! I'll post the next one in a couple hours, if I can, so you're not stuck waiting on three pages for a day. Next chapter is 8 pages long. And it includes a main event. So there.

Am I alone in that I'm scared once I see a review in my inbox? I'm always scared it'll be a flame. (That doesn't mean stop reviewing. If you did that, I'd stop posting.) Do any of you feel like that? Or are you all ecstatic about it like some people are?

OK, that's all… I'm going to rant at the end of this chapter, so ignore that if you don't want to deal with the troubles of the first day of high school.

Oh, and the timeline with Lily isn't quite worked out yet. I'll have to change future chapters. If I don't and I post the wrong thing, please scream at me. I'd appreciate it.

* * *

The morning after went quite normally, although everyone was talking about the nightclub attack. It was on every news station on the TV, and it was in almost every newspaper you could buy. Cammie was also quite distant to Livy, obviously still aggravated about the night before. However, Livy was soon seated behind a table in a bookshop (she couldn't remember which; she was hopeless with names) and could see a crowd of people waiting outside the store. 

"Wow," she murmured. "Are they all for me? All for my autographs?"

"You betcha," Cammie said, beaming, as she came up behind Livy. "Bigger turnout than we expected; you must be really popular here."

"Wow."

"Don't wow anymore; they're coming in. And lose the amazed expression – you're supposed to be in charge, the superior."

Sure enough, a whole crowd of people swarmed the front of the table. Cammie moved and started arranging them in a line.

"Come on now, people. If you don't get into a single-file line, Livy won't sign your things."

Soon people were in a line and Livy began signing autographs.

"What's your name, sweetie?" she asked of a small girl, maybe five or six years old at oldest, in the middle of the line.

"Lily," the girl answered shyly. "My mommy read me your book and I loved it."

Livy couldn't help but feel a smile tugging on her lips as she signed the book that Lily held out for her. Then she took a good look at the child. Lily had the same flaming-red hair that Livy had had when she was Ginny, only it was bushy like Hermione's had been. She had freckles like Ron and doe-like brown eyes just like Hermione's. Livy's eyes widened as she remembered that Ron and Hermione had gotten married after they graduated from Hogwarts and that Hermione had been just pregnant, but she pushed the book back across the table to Lily, who grabbed it and smiled.

"Thank you," Lily said happily. Her mother came up behind her and took her hand gently. Livy did a double take; the woman did, indeed, like suspiciously like Hermione.

"And what's your name?" Livy asked to the next person in line, letting the adrenaline in her body settle down, and starting the process of signing books once more.

She had relaxed until the end of the signing was in sight. Sure, Cammie was right, her hand hurt like hell and her cheeks hurt from smiling, but there appeared to be no sign of anyone Livy knew.

Unfortunately, gloating about that seemed to awaken the Ironic Overpower.

"There you go," Livy said to a teenage girl with short-ish dirty blonde hair and freckles spanning across her cheeks and nose. "Next!"

The girl moved off and a book was pushed across the table.

"Name?"

"Harry."

Livy's eyes snapped up. She knew that voice better than she knew anyone else's, and the owner of the voice matched the name given.

There, standing before her, was the reason she had left everything and everyone behind. Well, and Dumbledore, but he obviously wasn't there. Harry Potter in the flesh. She turned back to the book, intent on writing something inspiring. Hey, she might hate the guy's guts, but she wanted him to beat Voldemort, at any rate.

_Harry-_

_Follow your dreams and **believe in yourself**. You can do it._

_-Lily James_

Well, not perfect, but good enough, Livy thought. She gave the book back to Harry and avoided his gaze. He took it, accidentally brushing her fingers as he did so. Livy felt a shock go through her. Harry obviously felt the same, as he stared at her with a question written all over his face.

"Ginny?" he whispered. Livy arranged her face in a confused look.

"My name is Livy, sir. I don't know any Ginnys."

He continued to look at Livy suspiciously, but moved off to the side to join Hermione and Lily, who were browsing the easy chapter books (obviously for Lily).

Lily signed the rest of the books on autopilot, her heart pounding from the close encounter with people from her past. To add to her anxiety, when Harry, Hermione, and Lily left the store, Livy could audibly hear Harry saying something about 'Ginny Weasley' and Hermione looked back at the young author. Livy pretended to be busy, but she could hear Hermione say, "No, it can't be her. They look nothing alike!"

Heaving a sigh of relief, she listened to Cammie.

"Livy, that man who called you Ginny… he looked a lot like the man in the picture, the one who you said died. Explanation?

"Coincidence."

"Coincidence, my arse. Why did he call you by your sister's name, then?"

"I don't know."

"B.S."

"Look, Cam, not everything is a conspiracy. It's a big coincidence, nothing more. Give it a rest," Livy said tiredly as they walked out the bookshop to the waiting cab (Livy refused to take a limo). Cammie sighed.

"Fine, but I AM going to find out."

"You do that," Livy said, sitting back and massaging her aching right hand. "I'm hungry. Can we stop somewhere?"

"Livy, do you _really_ want to stop somewhere? You're not in Chicago, and you're famous," Cammie answered, raising an eyebrow.

"Fine, but this means two words."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Room. Service."

Cammie laughed. "You got it."

--------

OK, my rant. High. School. Sucks. Majorly. Today was my first day and I'm terrified to go back. The upperclassmen are fine, probably because I'm in a junior math class (Algebra II Honors) and Honors everything else I can, but the school's so damn confusing. I have to go from the orchestra room (room 65) to room 205 and I was late to World History today because I don't know my way around. I toured the school five times with my schedule, and it hasn't helped. I'm practically hyperventilating just thinking about it. I never had Algebra, so I'm probably going to have to either drop down to Algebra I or get a tutor. So now I get to make a fool of myself in front of upperclassman as well as the sophomores and freshmen. Woohoo (note the sarcasm). We got homework the first day, and I didn't write down which calculator to get for Algebra II. I think it's a TI-83, but I'm not sure. And those are expensive calculators, so I don't want to get the wrong one. UGH.

Anyone who read that whole thing gets a cookie! Anyone who makes me feel better gets the whole bakery!


	4. I will NOT make out with you!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. Too tired to think up a creative one. I do, however, own Cammie's song.

I promised a new chapter, so here it is. Ugh, high school AGAIN tomorrow… better get used to this – four more years to go. ARGH. This is going to kill me. It's going to send me into a relapse, especially with Algebra II Honors. ARGH!

Ahem. Becki gets the food in the bakery but not ownership… you very nearly cheered me up, but I need hugs. And I think you know the problem with that. XD

* * *

The next day was spent sightseeing. Of course, Livy had already seen the sights, seeing as she had lived in Muggle London for about a month after the argument, but that didn't stop her from gazing in wonder at Big Ben and snapping a picture of Cammie and Buckingham Palace (but in front of the gate; tours weren't running that day). 

However, all good things must come to an end, and the day after that found Livy and Cammie hurriedly packing up their suitcases. Livy wished several times that she could use magic, but it was out of the question, especially since her wand had been left behind in Chicago and she hadn't quite mastered the art of wandless magic.

"Next stop: Paris, France," Cammie said as the two boarded the Paris-bound plane. Livy breathed a sigh of relief.

_We're finally getting away from London and everyone. Finally,_ she thought.

They were in first class this time – Cammie's pick, way back when the company was planning this – and Livy was slightly dazed at the fancy people in it. They looked very important, except for one little girl who was sitting in the seat across the aisle from Livy. She looked miserable and out of place. Livy smiled at her and the girl looked away.

"Well then," she muttered quietly.

"What?" asked Cammie distractedly. She was busy sipping champagne (nothing but the best for Cammie Wilson) and writing in a little notebook.

"Nothing. What's in the notebook?" Livy asked. Cammie blushed and shut it.

"Just some songs and stuff," she said quietly. "They suck."

"Can I see?" Well, it seemed like a logical progression in the conversation.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"I'll buy you something when we get there…"

"…fine."

Cammie handed over her notebook and Livy flipped it open to the middle. It was obviously where Cammie had just been writing, as it was incomplete. The page was entitled "Blood Roses".

_Prick your finger on a thorn_

_Soon today you'll all be scorned_

_Never mind the blood that drips_

_Never mind the mind that grips_

That was the first verse. Livy was impressed.

"Wow, Cam, that's really good!"

She flushed. "You think so?"

"Yeah… if you could write music to this, I'm sure I could get a band to play it," I said. It wasn't a lie – Livy was good friends with Valerie Ann, the lead singer of the band Perspectment. She was sure that they would be willing to do that song. It seemed like their style.

Cammie looked excited now. "Really?"

"Yeah."

She beamed and took the notebook back, starting to write in it again. Livy let her work until the plane started going down.

"Hey, Cam," she said. Cammie straightened up from where she was bent over her notebook.

"Yeah?"

"We're landing."

"Oh." Cammie tucked her notebook back into her bag, along with her pencil. "Thanks."

"No prob."

--------------------------------------

The hotel in Paris was even nicer than the one in London. You could practically swim in the pool – it reminded Livy of the Prefects' bathroom back at Hogwarts, minus the taps and extreme amounts of foam and bubbles – and the whole suite was generally huge.

"Wow," Livy whispered. Cammie giggled.

"Liv, hun, you're famous. You're raking in the money with each copy of your $17 hardcover book. I don't care if you were poor as a child, my advice is to get used to these kinds of things. You'll be seeing a lot if it, especially when you write a sequel."

Livy felt her stomach drop. "A…sequel?"

"Yeah, a sequel. You know, a book that comes after another book and ties in with the first book, usually continuing the plot line."

"But…I don't have a sequel planned," Livy said. It wasn't a lie, she hadn't been expecting to write a sequel, but the main problem is that she only wrote to keep her mind off of the magical community. The only reason she got it published is because Cammie made her. And as soon as she got back to Chicago, she was going to go on a nice vacation. Yes, a vacation sounded good, Livy decided. Maybe to Hawaii or some other warm place. Anyway, when she was in Hawaii, she wouldn't have time to write a novel.

"Think of one. It's in the contract."

Livy silently cursed herself. How could she be so stupid as to not read the contract?

"Fine," she heard herself saying. "But not now."

"Of course not now; you're on vacation! You're not supposed to be working!"

"Writing's not work, it's fun," Livy argued. "But I'll have to think of an idea first, so I'll wait."

"Good. So what do you want to do now?"

"What is there to do, Miss Cammie?"

"I don't know. You're the one who was raised in Europe!"

"In England and Scotland, not France. And I really prefer not to be reminded of where I was raised. I didn't leave on the best terms."

"We could go eat," Cammie suggested. Livy shrugged.

"If you want."

In the end, they ate at a nearby café. Livy didn't get recognized at all – she didn't seem to be as popular in Paris – and they generally had a good time. After they were done, they went up to their room and lounged on their beds.

They slept early that night; Livy had a signing tomorrow. The next morning was a buzz of activity and Livy was caught in the middle of it. She found herself wishing desperately that she hadn't forgotten her wand at home when she was attempting to drag the heavy table by herself with very little success. Cammie rolled her eyes and took the other end of the table. Together they carried it to the designated spot. Livy sat down behind it, was handed a new pen, and everyone outside was let in.

It was a smaller crowd this time, but still rather sizable. It was enough to make Livy's stomach jump. She still couldn't get over the fact that she was a world-famous Muggle author from America and that all those people were here to see her. Well, not her, Ginny Weasley, but her, Livy James.

She kept a smile on at all times, even when her cheeks got sore and her muscles started twitching. Well, then she took a break from smiling widely, but she still smiled at least a little at all times. Then a familiar shadow fell over her. She looked up to see the last person she wanted to lay eyes on. Instead of scowling, Livy pasted a fake smile on her face.

"Hello. Your name is Harry, correct?" she asked. He nodded.

"Very good. I see you remember me, _Ginny_."

Livy forced herself to look around as if to see who and where 'Ginny' was. When she looked back, Harry was raising an eyebrow. She arranged her face in a confused look.

"I'm afraid I don't know who this 'Ginny' is," she said. "Now, please step aside so other people can get through."

He didn't move. "I know it's you, Ginny. You still sound like yourself. Come back; we need you."

"Sir, please step away before I call security," Livy said. She would've done it, too, but he moved out of the way and she had to sign more books. Luckily, they were soon signed and Livy could put down her pen.

The next two signings went similarly, with Harry coming and bugging the crap out of her and Cammie questioning her after it.

The fourth signing was on a rare bright and sunny day in Scotland. She hadn't wanted to go to Scotland either, but Cammie had somehow tricked her into going, probably with a pint of Edy's double fudge brownie ice cream. Cammie was sly like that. She could have you doing anything within a few hours.

Anyway, Livy was signing books when HE came up to the table and pushed a book onto it. It was his copy of her photo album. She pushed it back.

"I can't sign this."

"May I ask you a question, _Livy_?" he asked, leaning close. Before she had a chance to answer, he continued. "Why do you keep denying your identity?"

An idea formed in her mind and she smirked evilly as she quickly pulled away. "No, sir, I will _not_ make out with you in my hotel room!" she said loudly, making sure she looked astonished and disgusted. There was a shocked silence and then the line erupted in whispers.

"But- I didn't-" Harry stuttered as a security guard grabbed him.

"Wait!" Livy called, making a life-changing decision. "Leave him here. I want to talk to him." The security guard nodded and Livy returned to signing books, although she was slightly pissed now. An hour later, she was done.

"All right, I can handle him from here," Livy said to the security guard, who let Harry go while mumbling protests. Livy waved everyone away. She turned to Cammie. "Where can he and I go where we won't be disturbed and there's not even a slight chance I'll be recognized?"

Cammie shrugged. "With both of those conditions? Nowhere."

"Nowhere?"

"Well, if you're desperate, you can take him to our room while I go shopping."

"Thank you," said Livy. Cammie waved it away with a flick of her hand.

"No problem. What I don't get is why you want to talk to that scrawny, annoying guy. He's done nothing but annoy you."

"I want to know why he calls me 'Ginny'." Livy walked over to where Harry was flipping through a copy of her book. "Oi, Scarboy! C'mon, we're going back to my place!"

Harry put the book back on the display and turned around slowly. "So it _is_ you."

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about, but we'll discuss it when we get back to the room."

He followed her out and to her hotel. This time, it was just a regular room with two beds, a chair, a TV, and a bathroom. It was quite small, but that's how Livy liked it. She climbed onto a bed and sat against the pillows. Harry sat on the chair.

"So, where's your scar, Potter?" was the first thing that came to her mind. He smiled.

"So it is you," he repeated. "You're Ginny."

"Maybe. Or maybe I'm some rabid fan of yours impersonating her so you would talk to me."

"Ginny, it's so good to see you again," he said, which seemed to be an odd thing to say to her statement. "Can I see you as… you?"

Livy shook her head. "Impossible."

"Why?"

"My wand's in my apartment and the charms only work if I use _my_ wand. I'm not going back home to get it, either. You never answered my question, Potter. Where's your scar? And how can you be out and traveling?"

"My scar mostly faded when Voldemort retreated in the battle last year. He's not gone, but he's not all-powerful either. And I used a concealing charm on the rest of it. I think that covers your second question, too. My turn. What made you write?"

"Getting away. I needed some way of keeping my mind off things. Making up an alternate magic world was fun while it lasted, but now I've gotten over it. Well, until you came. How did you recognize me when Hermione and Rom didn't? I mean, Hermione was my best friend and Ron is my brother!"

"And I was your boyfriend," Harry said quietly. "I knew you as well as, if not better than, anyone else. He smiled. "Plus, how could I forget that mouth? Made for kissing, it was. Still is, I guess."

Livy shook her head. "For one thing, let me remind you that I am not your girlfriend anymore, as of the end of my fifth year, my name's not Ginny anymore, and that you were the reason I left England and that whole world. So don't you dare say you knew me better than anyone else. If you did, you wouldn't have suggested dealing with that blasted diary again. Furthermore, Cammie saw my photo album and I told her that red-haired Ginny was my sister and that you were her boyfriend. I also told her that you two were dead."

"What?" Harry exploded. "You told her I – we – were dead? Why?"

"Because it was the only thing that I could have possibly said that would have shut her up."

"What was she not shutting up about?"

"I was crying."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because," Livy answered as if that explained everything.

"Because why?"

Because I felt like it," Livy said sarcastically. "Because I missed my old life!"

"Come back then!" Harry exclaimed. "We all miss you. Your mom still cries over you. She feels responsible for you leaving."

"Come back to _what_?" People who betrayed me? And why would I leave this life? I'm the author of a best-selling book! I've got more money now than I've ever had. I have a good Muggle life. Why would I throw it all away?"

"Why? Because you long for your old life. You miss your family, your friends, and your home. You're not happy with this life."

"Potter, don't you dare tell me if I'm happy or not. You're out of line and you know it." Her voice was a deadly whisper.

"It's true, then. You want to go back."

"It's not. At least here, nobody's betrayed me! Here, I have friends I can actually trust, which is more than I can say for your world!"

"It was your world too! It still is your world!"

Ginny stared at him for a second, and then hopped off the bed. "Excuse me. Cammie's at the door; you should go unless you want awkward questions. And don't you dare Obliviate her."

"I wasn't planning on it. Here, I'll go, but expect to see me soon."

Livy snorted. "You sound like a fucking stalker, you know that?"

"We're still at Headquarters, if you ever need anything."

"No idea what you're talking about, Harry."

He sighed. "Of course you don't, Ginny."

"It's _Livy_."

"Of course it is, Ginny. Good night."

And with that, he opened the door, held it open for Cammie, and stepped through. "Ta."

"Wait!" Livy called. Harry stopped and turned around.

"Yes, _Livy_?"

"You can't tell anyone you saw me. Nobody can know. Not Mum, not Dad, not Ron or Hermione, not Gred or Forge. Percy can go screw himself, but you can't tell anyone," Livy pleaded. Cammie looked confused.

"Livy, what-?"

"Livy, you can't expect me to keep something like this from them! It's been five years; I can't just keep quiet!"

"You can and you will," Livy hissed, stepping out into the hall. "Or I will curse you into next year. I haven't forgotten how. Practice "

Harry sighed. "Great, look what you did. Now I have to Obliviate her."

"Why? Plenty of Muggles know about us."

"I thought you didn't want her to know."

"I don't, but she has to now that _you've_ come and fucked up my life. She's not going to let it go until I go crazy or die, one of the two. So I'm going to tell her."

He exhaled in a hiss. "Fine, have fun. You know where to find me. And don't blame me when she kicks you out of whatever deal you have with her."

"_She _is just a friend. And she will keep it a secret."

"I'll trust you on that, Gin- er, Livy. Good luck."

Harry turned around and continued on his way out of the hotel. Once he was out of sight, Livy could hear a faint POP and smiled, knowing he Apparated. She turned back to Cammie, who was staring at her. Livy smiled weakly.

"Uhm… I think I have some explaining to do…"


	5. Laura

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. Ugh. Stupid disclaimer. Anyway, I DO own Laura, so don't steal her. I know she's adorable, but please, she's mine. XD

Oh, guys… thank you SO much for cheering me up about high school, all of you. You have no idea how wonderful it was to open up my inbox and see, like, ten reviews! It really cheered up my day, even if high school is still crap. You all get bakeries. Even Becki, lol. Now, Becki, you can even make your own stuff! Although I don't trust you with an oven. Fire is not _your_ friend. It's all mine!

This is the first chapter (after the prologue, I mean) that refers to Ginny as… Ginny. It's also the introduction of Laura. The sequel, assuming you guys want me to write it, will be mostly about Ginny and Laura. Just so you know.

Read the author's note at the bottom if you want to know why I won't be updating tomorrow.

* * *

**---GINNY---**

"Damn straight," Cammie said, pulling Ginny into the room and closing the door. "Talk."

Ginny sighed and sat on a bed, pulling her legs up under her. "What do you need to know?"

"What was that 'I'll curse you into next year' shit? If the Harry in your photo album is dead, how come this Harry looks exactly like him and is perfectly alive? Why does he call you Ginny? What's Obliviating? What's a Muggle?" Cammie fired out question after question.

"OK, I have no idea where the beginning is, but I'll do my best. Please don't get freaked out. Hear me out and then you can make your judgments."

Cammie gasped. "Oh, God, don't tell me you were in a cult!"

Ginny laughed. "No, I wasn't in a cult. You're still going to get freaked out, though." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing her eyes. "I'm a witch."

Cammie burst out laughing. "A witch? Nice story, Livy."

"Look, please trust that I'm telling the truth and wait until we get back to Chicago so I can prove it to you. I'd show you everything but it's at home in the apartment. I'm a witch, complete with a cauldron, a flying broomstick, and a wand. I went to a wizarding school called Hogwarts from when I was eleven to when I was seventeen, just before I ran away. It's in Scotland, I think, but I can't show it to you. God, this sounds so stupid when I'm explaining to a Muggle, especially after five years…"

"Go on," Cammie prodded. "You can't show me Hogwarts because…?"

"Because you would see a rubbish dump. It's under charms that prevent Muggles from getting in. Muggles are non-magical people, by the way. With me so far?"

"I think so. Now fast-forward to the part about Harry and why he calls you Ginny."

"Harry was my boyfriend for my fifth year at Hogwarts. He's also this big person in wizarding history. God, this is hard to explain. OK, there was this evil wizard person terrorizing most of Europe before I was born. He murdered people right and left, not caring that he was a murderous freak. He had these followers called Death Eaters killing for him, too. So one day he decided to murder Harry. Harry was a year old, but he stopped Voldemort somehow. Voldemort went into hiding for a long time – either ten years or thirteen years, depending on how you count it. Anyway, Voldemort came back fully, with a body and all, when I was thirteen. Harry was in the ceremony, strapped to a tombstone. And anyway, Harry is my brother Ron's best friend and he was my boyfriend for a few weeks before he broke it off."

"OK, thanks for the history… but why did you say he was dead? And who was that red-haired chick with him? And why does he call you Ginny?"

"My name isn't Livy James. It's Ginevra Molly Weasley. And that red-haired girl was me before I ran away. I had to tell you we were dead; you would have never left it alone."

"I have to give you that. I wouldn't have left it alone, since you were crying. Why aren't you still with your family and Harry?

"I ran away, I told you that," Ginny said, picking at a loose thread on the comforter. "It's a long story and I'm tired."

"Nope," Cammie said. "I wanna hear it."

"It involves a lot of personal history and crap," Ginny said. "And I'm not going to tell you all that tonight. Just know that it was mostly Harry's fault, mixed with the headmaster of my old school. G'night," she said, lying down and turning over. Cammie huffed but made her way to her bed and the two were soon asleep with yesterday's clothes on.

--------------------------------------------------------------

The next night, Ginny was in her own bed, her wand in a locked nightstand drawer beside her. She was awakened from a slight nightmare involving Snape and a botched potion by screaming outside the building. She ran to the window and looked out to see beams of different colored light shooting and each time a green one hit something, one less scream was heard.

Ginny gasped. It was the Death Eaters, it had to be! She had sworn off the wizarding world and moved to America to avoid this; why did everything from her past come to bite her in the arse in the past week? How could she forgive herself, though, if all her friends in the building were annihilated and she had done nothing about it? Making her mind, she unlocked the drawer and drew out the long piece of wood. She gave it a swish and muttered 'Wingardium Leviosa!' The table lifted and she released the spell, giving a small smile. She still had it.

She snuck down the stairs, thinking that they would probably have stopped the elevator with Muggles inside, just for their own sick amusement. Wand in front of her, she slid through the barely ajar door, mentally thanking the gym for keeping her skinny and in shape. Her foot just barely hit the door, but it was enough to squeak. Ginny winced and kept her wand out. A green spell rushed towards her and she ducked. She couldn't see much, as the Death Eaters had evidently cut the lights in the lobby, but she could definitely not see any human figures. A red spell cut towards her which she also dodged and shot a stunning spell in that general direction. A sound not unlike that of a body falling to the ground sounded and Ginny raced towards the outside, where most of the battle was taking place. Battle was an understatement; massacre was more like it. She couldn't see any more magical people besides her and the Death Eaters, and she hoped that the Aurors would get there soon. In the meantime, she shot several stunners at a clump of Death Eaters. Four out of the five hit their mark, and the fifth Death Eater strode out of the shadows, wand outstretched.

"Crucio," the Death Eater hissed and a beam of red light came out of his wand. Ginny didn't dodge far enough and the curse grazed her side. Immediately, she was in immense pain. Knives must have been piercing into her skin, her skin was on fire, she was surely getting rolled over by a semi… Suddenly, the pain lifted and she was left panting on the ground, clutching her wand. She quickly stood up. She had recognized that voice after hearing it for six years straight, taunting her, her family, and her friends

"Malfoy," Ginny said, her voice wavering slightly. "I always thought you were better than this. Attacking innocent Muggles? You should be ashamed."

In response, he snarled and shot another torture curse at her. This one, she was ready for and deflected it with a stronger version of _Protego_.

"Does Amanda know you're a Death Eater, Malfoy? I'm sure she'd be devastated. _Stupefy_!"

He blocked it easily. "Don't talk to me. You're beneath me. _Avada Kedavra!_

She bent over ninety degrees backwards like her friend had taught her and the curse whistled past her belly button and nose.

"Impedimenta!" Ginny yelled, straightening up and pointing her wand at Malfoy. He was thrown back a few feet, but soon got to his feet.

"I am a pureblood just like you, Malfoy," Ginny taunted. "But that doesn't matter to the pureblood-loving HALF-BLOOD fool that you worship so, does it? Though, I dare you, tell him you killed me. See what he says."

Malfoy was about to speak again when he was stunned from another mysterious source. Ginny looked around wildly. Aurors were apparating onto the lawn in front of the apartment building. Ginny sagged with relief and slipped her wand into her pocket. A child's scream made her draw it out again and run to the girl's side. The girl was around the corner of the building and was screaming her tonsils out. A Death Eater was approaching her, wand drawn.

"Stupefy!" Ginny said lazily, pointing her wand at the Death Eater. The villain hadn't even seen her. Almost too easy.

Putting her wand back in her pocket, Ginny crouched down to the little girl's level. To her horror, she could see the bodies of what appeared to be the girl's family, including a baby brother. The girl was looking at her with wide eyes and started to scramble away. In a flash of moonlight, Ginny immediately recognized her as Laura, the four-year-old that always came trick-or-treating and who Ginny babysat. Ginny had been good friends with her parents, and now they were dead. They had been friends since Ginny had moved to the apartment three years prior. She had been babysitting Laura for almost as long.

"Laura," she said softly. "It's me, Livy. I'm not going to hurt you, sweetie."

Laura looked at her but stayed in the same place. Ginny walked over, being careful to avoid walking on Laura's deceased family's bodies, and crouched again.

"Laura, do you trust me?" she asked. Laura hesitated and then nodded. Ginny hefted her up in her arms and stood up. She walked back around the corner with Laura in her arms and walked towards the Aurors. One of them spotted her and pulled out his wand. Laura whimpered and Ginny hugged her closer.

"Don't," Ginny said, her voice hoarse from shouting curses. "I'm on your side."

"And what were you doing here?" the Auror asked in a deep, rumbling voice, making all the other Aurors turn around and face her and Laura, who was wilting under all the stern looks.

"I live here. Fourth floor, last one from the stairs on your left. Or you can ask Harry Potter. I'm sure he'll tell you."

"_Lumos_," one of the Aurors said, and Ginny could dimly see the faces of the officers in front of her. She almost laughed as she saw a familiar face. Tonks was in the crowd, her face stern as she could make it.

"And how would you know Harry Potter?" Tonks asked.

"I went to school with him and dated him for a couple weeks," Ginny said. Tonks raised an eyebrow.

"I've never seen you around England. Do you have a name?"

"Wait a sec," Ginny said, turning to Laura. "I'm going to put you down for a sec, OK? Then you can get on my back."

"OK," Laura said in her little-girl voice and Ginny set her, feet-first, on the grass. Then Ginny took out her wand and pointed it at herself. "_Finite_."

Her brown hair turned red, starting from the roots and going down, her grey eyes turned a warm chocolate brown, and freckles spread like wildfire across her nose and cheeks. As the transformation finished, she bent down and Laura climbed onto her back. She stood up and smirked.

"Long time, no see, huh, Tonks?"

Tonks seemed to be still in shock. "G-Ginny?"

"In the flesh."

The other Aurors were obviously American and had no idea who Ginny was or how she knew Tonks. They scowled at the two as if they were laughing at some inside joke.

"Oh, God, Gin, we were so scared! We thought you had died-"

"Yeah, I'm sure you did," Ginny said quickly, "but there are still stunned Death Eaters around here for you to capture. Go do your job and then we can talk. And I have to figure out what to do with Laura."

"What do you mean, what to do with her? Where's her family?" Tonks asked. Ginny pointed.

"Over there. Go take a look."

Ginny stood there, Laura on her back, until all the Aurors were gone with the Death Eaters, and only Tonks, Ginny, and Lara were left.

"Oh, Ginny… we haven't seen you in _so_ long! Where have you been?"

"I'm tired and cold," Laura complained before Ginny could answer. Tonks laughed and Ginny gave sort of a tired smile.

"OK, Laura, we'll get you somewhere," Ginny said. "Hold tight for a sec, alright?"

Laura yawned and nodded, snuggling closer to Ginny. Ginny looked helplessly at Tonks, who sighed.

"Look, Gin, it's really late and you've been fighting. Why don't you go to bed and I'll take care of the kid?"

Laura whimpered and Ginny muttered, "Hey, Laura, sweetie, it'll be OK. She doesn't bite. She's a nice lady." Louder, Ginny said, "No. I don't know where I'd sleep, and I can't leave Laura. Her whole family died tonight and I don't want to leave her alone, or with someone she doesn't know. No offense."

"None taken… what the heck, take her tonight. We'll deal with this in the morning. We can Obliviate any Muggle po-lease officers that come looking for her."

Ginny looked oddly at Tonks. "You sure? That seems like a lot more trouble than what it's worth. I don't want to get arrested for kidnapping or something completely wrong like that."

"Yeah, sure. Do you know where to go?"

Ginny sighed, looking more tired than normal. "Yes, Nymphadora. Yes, I know where Headquarters is."

"Good, _Ginevra_. You remember how to Apparate?"

"Yes, but with her? I don't think Muggles are supposed to Apparate."

"Ginny, she has the feel of a wizarding child. A Muggleborn witch. Try it. If not, you can always go by Floo Powder."

"Will she be able to see it? Headquarters, I mean."

"Ginny, since Dumbledore died-"

"DUMBLEDORE DIED!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Yes, last year. Anyway, since then, we put a new spell on it, a newly discovered one. Since he was the Secret-Keeper, he couldn't tell anyone else, so we needed a new spell. This one means that each person who knows can tell only when not coerced and when bad intentions are gone. That means they can't tell when asked to tell, or when they're tortured. There are tons of other charms and spells on top of it, of course, but I think you pass by all of them."

"So I can tell her?" Ginny asked to clarify.

"Yep," Tonks confirmed. "I'll watch you go and then I'll head back to Auror's HQ."

Ginny let Laura slide down her back to the floor, then crouched down at her eye-level. "Laura, I'm taking you with me. We'll be back tomorrow, OK? I need you to remember this address. Repeat after me. Number 12, Grimmauld Place."

"Number 12, Grim-what?"

"Number 12, Grimmauld Place," Ginny repeated.

"Number 12, Grimmauld Place," Laura mimicked. Ginny ruffled her hair.

"Good job," she said, standing up and taking Laura's hand. "Now, Laura, this is going to feel really, really weird, OK? Just hold on."

With that, Ginny closed her eyes, focused on the three D's, and Apparated. They flew through time and space and when they landed, they were outside Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

"Well, this is it," Ginny breathed. She looked down at Laura. "Don't be scared, OK? You're a big girl. Do you remember the address I told you?"

"Number 12, Grimmauld Place," Laura chanted. "Did you live here, Livy? It's big."

"Yes, I used to live here, Laura," Ginny said. "It is big. C'mon, we're going to go in."

"In?" Laura squeaked. "It's scary!"

Ginny let a smile play across her lips. Yes, it was scary for her too. But Laura had no idea exactly how much…

* * *

I'm going a lake tomorrow and most of Sunday, but I'll be able to post on Sunday, I THINK. I'm not sure. Definitely not on Saturday. I'll try to double-post on Monday, though. This fic is only 9 chapters long, so don't expect it to go on forever. Sorry. I had to end it somewhere, and if I didn't, it would never get ended.

GOD BLESS THE PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM HURRICANE KATRINA. You are in our thoughts and prayers, and even though any of you probably won't see this until later (if at all… I'm judging the later part from the news), know that I would go down and help if I could… but I can't, so I'll settle for donating to the people at Pick 'N Save. Hey, it's all I can do.

Time for a little self-publicity. My friend Li and I wrote a story on a VERY long (16 hours there, 16 hours back… I think) car ride to drop off my brother at college in Amherst, MA. It's a really cool one, a guess-the-pairing one (but it's SO easy and it's a VERY accepted pairing… I don't think anyone can say it'll never happen.), and it's written in letter format. If you wanna read it, the penname is YouAndIBoth and the story is called "Dear Whoever". Cookies to anyone who reads/reviews it!


	6. So who's the father?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. End of story.

I AM NOT ABANDONING YOU, I PROMISE! I've been doing homework straight from when I get back from school to about 10 (or later). That's seven hours (six and a half if you count dinner) of homework a night. WAY more than what I had in middle school. I can't drop an honors course either until first quarter midnines because dropping-down time ended today. So now I'm stuck with a huge amount of homework. What really kills me is math. I never took algebra, so algebra II's gonna be hell… -sighs- Oh well. Muscle through it, right? (Note: I'm pretty sure I failed today's quiz, too.)

I'm sorry if this is bad or has errors; I snuck on to write this author's note and (hopefully) post it. I don't really have time to reread and reread and reread if you guys want the chapter. I looked through it once and caught a couple of things (I type fast, but I make mistakes a lot, so that's why there's mistakes in the chapters. Oh, and sometimes I completely write the wrong word or forget important words. Ask Li.)

At the end I have to rant about the lake… but it's a good rant. I'll try to make it short because we're not supposed to have incredibly long author's notes. –looks guilty-

* * *

Ginny stepped forward and put her hand up to knock, but she couldn't do it. She dropped her hand and stepped back. Laura looked at her quizzically. 

"What's wrong, Livy?"

"I can't do it," Ginny said. "It's been too long. I can't do it."

"Oh." Laura dropped her hand and arranged her face in that little-kid thinking look. Finally, she marched up to the door and knocked as loud as her little fists could. Ginny rushed up and pulled her back.

"No, Laura!" she whispered. Laura looked like she was going to cry. "Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you," Ginny cooed. The doors sounded as if they were unlocking and Ginny took Laura's hand, squeezing it comfortingly.

The door swung open, revealing Hermione. Her face was puzzled as she looked at Ginny.

"Do I know you? How did you get here?"

"I need a place to crash, Hermione, and so does Laura," Ginny said, picking up Laura. Although it was dark, Ginny could imagine Hermione's eyes widening as the gears in her head clicked away.

"G-Ginny?" she asked in the same astonished tone that Tonks had used. "Ginny, is that you?"

"Yes," Ginny said, too tired and overwhelmed for sarcasm. "It's me. Can we come in? We're about to fall asleep."

"We?"

"Yeah, this is Laura. Say hi to Hermione, Laura," Ginny said.

"Hi, Her-my-nee," Laura said, stumbling over the name. Ginny hugged her closer.

"Can we _please_ come in now, Hermione? She's freezing and it's _way_ past her bedtime."

"Yeah, come in," Hermione said, holding open the door as Ginny stepped in with Laura in her arms. Ginny walked into the kitchen and sank down in a chair, Laura settling in her lap.

"Who's the father?" Hermione asked, indicating Laura. Ginny blinked for a second, and then chuckled softly.

"She's not mine. Our apartment building was raided by Death Eaters about two hours ago and her family was killed. I'm kind of… babysitting her for the night. I might adopt her, though, since there's no family left. What do you think, Laura?"

"Mmm," Laura said sleepily, her eyes closed. Hermione watched the two for a minute, and then turned around.

"I'm going to get your mom, Gin," she said.

Ginny shook her head. "I'm not explaining anything before I get Laura to bed, and even then, I want go to bed too. I just spent an hour knocking out Death Eaters and trying not to get killed. I need my sleep."

"We've still got your bed up in my room," Hermione said. "If you want to put her in that and then sleep in my bed, I can sleep on the couch."

"Really?" Ginny asked, touched by the offer. "Thanks. I'll figure out some alternate crash place for tomorrow so you can sleep."

"You aren't going to stay here?" Hermione asked.

"No," said Ginny. "I have a Muggle life that I'm perfectly happy with. I just didn't want to get arrested for keeping Laura for the night like I would've, had I stayed in Muggle Chicago."

"Speaking of Laura, she looks pretty much out," Hermione said. "You look not too far behind. Come on, we're going to bed."

She led the way up several flights of stairs to the room. Ginny gently laid a sleeping Laura on the bed and put the covers over her before climbing into Hermione's bed and dropping off.

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Ginny woke up to a bunch of people staring at her from the doorway. She cracked one eye open.

"Wha-?" She opened the other eye and sat up in bed, combing her hair with her fingers. "No really, what?"

"Is it really you, Ginny?" her dad asked. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, you're reached a hologram. Try again later."

"It's _is_ you, Ginny!" her mother said, swooping down and hugging her. Ginny hugged her back half-heartedly.

She looked past her parents, though the door. There were all her brothers, all looking happy, and Hermione. And there, behind them all, was Harry, looking smug. He winked at her and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Ginny, why did you leave?" Ron asked.

"I'll answer questions after I've had something to eat and after I take care of Laura, and not a moment before."

"Mrs. Weasley already took care of Laura," Hermione said from the doorway. "She's downstairs playing with Lily."

"Thanks, Mum," Ginny said. "Now, I believe I mentioned something about breakfast?"

The group exchanged glances. "Gin, it's two in the afternoon," Ron pointed out.

"OK, not breakfast. Lunch."

"Livy!" a little voice said from the door.

"Laura!" Ginny mimicked, holding out her arms. A small blur impacted her with the force of a cannonball. "Oof. A little lighter, please, next time," Ginny said.

"Livy, come down!" Laura told her sternly. Ginny laughed.

"Alright, little one," she said and allowed Laura to pull her out of bed. She was still in yesterdays clothes, which were slightly blood-splattered from the battle. Looking down at herself, she shuddered. "OK, I need a shower and a change of clothes. Hermione, can I borrow?"

"Of course, Gin."

"Thanks," Ginny said, walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

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"Livylivylivy!" Laura chanted as Ginny made her way down the stairs. Ginny took a mock bow and sat down at the table. Mrs. Weasley set down a grilled cheese sandwich in front of her. Ginny laughed.

"Mum, I'm not seven anymore!"

"I know you aren't, sweetie, but it was your favorite for so long. I was hoping it would taste more like… home… than any other fancy meal I could make," Ginny's mother said. She was about to take a bite when Laura suddenly said, "I want some!"

Ginny tore her sandwich in half and gave half to Laura, who immediately took a huge bite out of it.

After the girls were finished eating, Ginny sat in an armchair in front of the fireplace in the living room while everyone clustered around her. Laura was playing with Lily in the corner. The two girls got on surprisingly well, considering one was most probably a witch and the other was a Muggle three years younger.

"No questions until I'm done," Ginny said, running her hands through her hair. "Okay?" At the nods, she took a deep breath and started.

"I left home at the age of almost 18 because of all of you. And that blasted diary, of course. It sounds harsh, but I felt so betrayed that I left. You all knew I still hadn't gotten over Riddle, and yet you shoved it in my face again. That's why I left.

"Once I left, I changed my name and wrote a book. It eventually gave me enough money to get by on and I even went on the occasional vacation. But I never used magic, from then until last night. Anyway, I got a new best friend named Cammie Wilson. She was – is, actually – the greatest, right up with you folk, only better because she didn't betray me.

"I had a book-signing tour recently. Harry was there, along with Ron, Hermione, and Lily. He recognized me right away and badgered me until I publicly humiliated him."

"You told me that you wouldn't make out with me in front of everyone," Harry interjected, his lip twitching as if he wanted to smile. Ron laughed and even Hermione cracked a small smile.

"Too right, I did," Ginny said, smirking. "And it sure shut you up. Anyway, we talked and he told me that Headquarters was still here. I asked him not to tell anyone that he saw me-"

"You threatened to curse me into next year!" Harry cut in.

"Stop interrupting. Cammie heard some of it, so then I had to explain to her and then I came home to Chicago. Last night, Death Eaters attacked my apartment building. What they were doing in Muggle America, I don't know, but I fought them. Then Aurors came and took care of the rest of the Death Eaters. Tonks was there and she told me how to get Laura in here too. So we came here and dropped dead in the beds and here we are now."

Everyone was quiet for a while, then Fred broke the silence.

"So who's the father?" he asked, nodding towards Laura, who wasn't listening at all, too busy coloring a picture.

"Draco Malfoy," Ginny said seriously, then laughed at the shocked looks on everyone but Hermione's faces. "Kidding. She isn't mine. Her whole family was killed in the attack, poor thing, and I didn't have the strength with fighting and all to take her to the authorities. I couldn't just leave her with someone she didn't know. I'll take her in today, I suppose…"

Everyone looked relieved and Ginny couldn't help but smirk again.

"Livy!" Laura shouted from across the room. "Look what I made!" She held up a picture of a house – apartment building, actually – and her family. At least, that's what Ginny guessed the messy stick people were.

"It's beautiful!" Ginny called back. "Why don't you make me a picture of… me, now?"

"'Kay!" Laura agreed, and she got back to work. Everyone else had smiles on their faces.

"Why didn't you ever have kids, Gin?" Hermione asked.

"For one thing, I wasn't even 18 when I left, and I'm only barely 23 now. Plus, I'm not even married."

"The age issue didn't stop Ron and Hermione," George snickered. Ron, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley cast him disapproving looks. He shrugged. "It's true…"

"Why does she call you Livy?" Ron asked, purposely ignoring George's comment.

Ginny smirked. "Take a guess."

"Because that was your Muggle name?" Charlie asked. Ginny nodded.

"Damn straight. Livy James, that was me. Famous young author extraordinaire."

Hermione gasped. "You're Livy James! I love your book! How did I not recognize you?"

"Meh, Ron didn't recognize me either, and he's my brother. Don't feel bad. I had a glamour spell on me. I haven't the slightest idea how Harry managed to identify me."

All heads turned to Harry. "She didn't change her voice, and you could tell she recognized me. I'm just surprised she only called security once. Not that I'm complaining, of course."

"Well, I'm just glad you're back, Ginny. You'll be staying with us, I presume?" Mrs. Weasley said.

"Actually, no. I have to go back. I can't just disappear with someone else's little girl. I might try to adopt her, though; I don't think she has any extended family alive and I was probably the closest neighbor or friend her parents had. I dunno."

Molly looked elated at the possibility of another grandchild. Everyone was talking at once, mostly giving advice to Ginny, when the front door opened. The room fell silent at once.

The silence was broken by a man's voice. "Hello? Where is everyone?"

"We're in the living room, _all_ of us," Mr. Weasley called. A man walked into the room who looked immensely like…

"Remus?" Ginny gasped, getting up and walking cautiously over.

"Ginny?" he sounded incredulous. "Can it be you?"

"It is," Ginny said, grinning and hugging him. Once she pulled away, she gestured to Laura. "That's Laura. I kidnapped her."

He raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"Last night our apartment building was attacked by Death Eaters and her whole family was murdered. I was the only one alive after that attack, I think, and I didn't have the heart or the strength to bring her to the police. I brought her here because I didn't have any other place for both of us to go. I'm pretty sure our rooms got raided and there was no guessing what surprises the Death Eaters left. And Tonks reckons she might be a Muggleborn witch, so it's not terribly bad that she's here. I do wonder whether or not her parents were magical though; she doesn't seem terribly concerned that I look terribly different than when she knew me as Livy."

Of course, Laura chose that moment to ask, "Why do you look different, Livy?"

Remus laughed and Ginny glared at him and then turned to Laura. "Magic."

"Really?" Laura asked breathlessly. Ginny nodded.

"And, little munchkin, I think you might be able to do that someday."

Laura broke out in the biggest smile that Ginny had ever seen as she turned back to her coloring, singing, "I'm gonna be ma-gic! I'm gonna be ma-gic!"

"I said maybe, munchkin."

Laura didn't listen; she just kept singing her song. Ginny looked around to see everyone looking at her amusedly. "What?"

"You're so cute with her," Molly said, sighing. "I hope you do adopt her."

"Whoa," Remus said. "Back up. Adopt her?"

"Yes, adopt her. What do you think I'm going to do, let her go off with some stranger?" Ginny said.

"Well, if she has relatives…"

"She doesn't."

"How do you know?"

"Because her parents told me once, Remus. I'm capable of getting information, anyway."

"I'm sure you are. Why does she call you Livy?"

Laughing, Ginny explained and then said, "I think I've got to go. I have to bring Laura in and talk to Cammie. I should probably talk to Nick, too, and explain that I won't be able to make coffee tomorrow."

"Nick?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. "Who's Nick?"

"My not-really boyfriend back in the States," Ginny answered. "Honestly, Harry, did you expect me to put my love life on hold just because you dumped me five years ago?"

"If I recall correctly, _you_ dumped _me_ during that fight."

"Who cares? He's not really my boyfriend anyway. It's just what Cammie calls him. Then again, she was the one with the idea to go to the club that the Death Eaters attacked, so we can see how good her decisions are."

"You were at that club? We were there, but not before seven people were killed. Why didn't you stop them?" Ron asked. "You could have prevented at least one person from being killed."

"I didn't have my wand with me on the tour. It was back in a locked drawer in Chicago. Plus, it would have been ten to one. Logic says I would have lost. I saved Cammie's life, and my own, and I'm satisfied with that. I would probably have never known to get out if I hadn't seen Malfoy Jr. – the only good thing he's ever done for me, even if it was unwilling and unknown to him."

"We caught a Death Eater, but he wouldn't tell us anything. We didn't see either Malfoy there," Harry said.

"Well, Draco Malfoy was there for sure. I didn't recognize any others, sorry."

"S'ok. Anyway, I'd like to speak with this 'Nick' of yours. Care to introduce us?" Fred asked. Ginny narrowed her eyes.

"Not if you're going to, a.) threaten him, or b.) prank him. Actually, no, you can't, since I'm sure you would do something like that."

"You think I would do that to my dear sister's not-boyfriend? You wound me, Ginny," Fred said, fake-sniffing. He continued looking solemn until Ginny poked him in the ribs.

"Ha, gotcha," she said, laughing as he and George poked her repeatedly in the ribs.

"Stop it!" she panted. "You're going to give me bruises!"

"Now you know what it's like, dear sister!" George said, laughing. He stepped back, as did Fred.

"I really have to go," Ginny said, sounding only a tiny bit regretful. "Maybe I'll come back for tonight, or maybe I'll crash at Cammie or Nick's." She put on the charms that made her look like Livy James again (brown hair, grey eyes, no freckles). "Come on, Laura dear. We're going to visit some people."

Laura looked sadly from her drawing to Ginny and reluctantly threaded her way through the crowd of people to Ginny. Ginny scooped her up in her arms and stepped through the door that Hermione opened for her.

"Good luck," Hermione said before closing the door. Ginny sighed.

"It's just me and you now, Laura," she said. "Hold tight, love."

Ginny Apparated with Laura to a forest right behind a police station in Chicago. She entered the police station, Laura in her arms, and stood awkwardly in the middle of the entryway, unsure of where to go.

"Can I help you?" the man at the front desk asked lazily. Ginny walked up to him.

"Uhm… this little girl's family was killed last night in the Mortan Apartment Building massacre. I'm her neighbor; she lived two apartments down. I took her in for the night because no police officers were on the scene and we were both exhausted. We crashed at my friend's house," Ginny said, lying a little for the last bit.

"Come this way," the officer said, sounding bored. He led her to a room where Ginny and Laura sat and waited for what seemed like ages, Ginny stroking Laura's silky hair and staring into space, and Laura closing her eyes and snuggling into Ginny's lap. Finally, a police officer came into the room.

"Come with me," she said, leading Ginny and Laura to another room.

Ginny and the police officer talked for hours, Ginny repeating her story (minus the magic part) five times. Laura fell asleep in Ginny's lap. Finally, the police officer, after talking to more officers, came to a decision.

"The will that Laura's parents left does not specify the custody of the girl-"

"Can I adopt her?" Ginny asked eagerly. The officer shook her head.

"We already have a waiting list to adopt a young girl such as her. I'm sorry."

Ginny bit her lip and looked down at the sleeping child. She gently shook Laura to wake her up.

"Laura, hun, you have to go with these officers, OK? They'll take care of you. I can't take care of you anymore."

Laura looked up at Ginny with big brown eyes, ones that almost matched Ginny's own when she was in her normal form, and started to cry as she processed Ginny's words. "I don't wanna go," she sobbed.

"Shh, Laura, hun, you'll see me again, I promise," Ginny said, feeling her eyes mist up and a tear drip down her cheek. "Now be a big girl."

Laura only cried harder and attached herself to Ginny, little fists grabbing at the fabric of Ginny's T-shirt. Ginny pried her off and handed her, the little girl kicking and screaming, to the officer.

"I'll see you again, sweetie," Ginny said soothingly, touching the girl's arm softly. "It'll be OK."

To the police officer holding Laura, she said, "Can I visit her sometimes? Just occasionally; I won't try to take her away or anything."

"You would have to discuss that with her new parents," the officer said, "and we're not sure who they would be."

Ginny closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. This wasn't turning out the way she had planned it, at all. "What's the usual waiting time for a nine- or ten-year-old?"

"It is much less. You could probably adopt one as soon as you got your paperwork in. Would you like to?"

"No," Ginny said, her eyes fixed on Laura's screaming form. "I don't want to. The only child I would ever want is her."

"I'm know, but she's off limits right now."

"I understand. I'll be taking my leave, then," Ginny said, wiping away her tears. "I love you, Laura, and don't you dare forget that. Now stop crying. You can do this." _And so can I_, she thought as she turned around and walked through the station, escorted by another officer. As soon as she was out, she walked to the forest behind the station and Apparated to behind the trees in Cammie's yard in the suburbs of Chicago.

Knocking at Cammie's door, she wiped away the tears and smoothed down her hair, trying to make herself look somewhat presentable. The door was opened by not Cammie, but Nick. His eyes bugged out when he saw Ginny, and vice versa. Nick was missing his shirt.

* * *

You like? Again, I'm sorry if there are errors; I didn't have much time to look it over. In fact, after I write this, I have to get off and do my homework that's due Monday and Tuesday. 

Birch Lake - funnest place ever. (yes, funnest.) Awesomest things: tubing (with Lauren, this little-kid cute seven year old girl; my little brother Michael; and myself – not at the same time, o'course. Lauren and I went together, and Michael and I went together, and I went alone. I flipped twice, but that's only because the waters were REALLY choppy and I was out of practice), adults dancing to 70's music (including La Bamba, which I played in Mariachi, the Hokey-Pokey, the chicken dance, and tons of others. The adults were all slightly drunk, to put it nicely, and they got pretty wild, which is on the verge of icky when they're all ages 40-60), the limbo contest (Ha, they were playing the limbo rock and I sang to it! And Kelsey, a seventh-grader, won. Go Kels!), the paper bag contest (amusing to watch, but makes you very sore. I'll explain it later if you want), and suicide pong (I'll explain if you want me to, but I don't want to make this AN too long. It already is, actually.)

So… yes. Before you yell at me, I DO know that that's definitely not how you drop off a child after their parents die, and that it would be illegal to do what Ginny did, but I needed it for the story. I claim creative license. I can't promise when the next update will be. Probably next weekend. I haven't been able to work on the sequel anymore because of school and because I've been trying to write this (very sad) short story about a girl whose sister gets leukemia. It's six pages right now handwritten and it only can be 1500 words, so that's a bit of a struggle, cutting it down. OK, I'm done. Sorry for the long author's note, I'm a very chatty person. I'll make them short next time, promise! Ciao!


	7. Cammie and Nick sitting in a tree

**Disclaimer:** I've been such a good girl with these… I don't own Harry Potter.

Please don't flame me saying that Crucio can't do that! It's a bad habit of mine, extending the capabilities of the Cruciatus curse, but it was important for the scene.

This is the last weepy chapter, I promise. There's one paragraph in the next chapter in which Ginny has to explain about Laura to somebody, but it's only one paragraph.

I can't do reviewer responses because I don't have Internet at the moment and when I do have Internet, I have to post this. I'm sure you would rather have the chapter than reviewer responses, especially since I probably won't be able to post chapter eight until next weekend. However, I'd like to dedicate this to Sexi Silver, who has reviewed every chapter so far (I think… I can't look at the reviews yet). Oh, and Ginny won't see Laura for the rest of this fic, but I can't say anything about the sequel until the last chapter... .

Only two chapters left after this! And then a huge long wait for the sequel that may never come!

* * *

"L-Livy?" 

"Yes, it's me; let me in. I need to see Cammie."

"Give her a sec. She has to get presentable."

Ginny put two and two together and her eyes bugged as much as Nick's had. "You're sleeping with my best friend!"

"I'd rather not discuss this with the door open," he hissed, looking back and stepping away from the door. "Now you can come in."

"Thank you," Ginny said sarcastically, but stepped in. "Nick, go away. I don't give a shit what you're doing to my best friend right now as long as she's happy with it, but I need some girl time with her. You can shag each other like bunnies later."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Get the fuck out." Ginny threw her shoe at him. It hit him in the stomach.

"Ginny!" Cammie squeaked. "Stop it!"

"Well, make him get out. Tell him you'll meet him for coffee in two hours at the Starbucks across the street. And then I wouldn't have to resort to violence."

Cammie rolled her eyes. "If it's that important to you, Nick will go. Won't you, Nick?" she asked in a sugary-sweet voice. Nick rolled his eyes.

"Fine, but only because you asked _nicely_," he said, looking pointedly at Ginny, who shrugged. He left and Ginny flopped down on Cammie's bed and started crying. Cammie sat down next to her.

"OK, Livy, what's up? Why are you crying?"

Ginny controlled herself enough to speak. "OK, well, I don't know if you saw it on the news this morning or not, but my apartment building got attacked by those evil people I told you about, the Death Eaters."

Cammie gasped and pulled Ginny up from the pillows to hug her. "That's awful! Did people die?"

Ginny gave a wry smile. "Only about everyone. The only survivors I know of are me and this little girl named Laura. I babysat for her and I knew her since she was one year old. Anyway, I took her back to some of my school friends and we crashed with them. But this morning I had to bring her back to the Muggle world so I wouldn't get arrested for kidnapping and now she's g-g-gone!" Ginny said, sobbing again.

"Shh, Livy, it's OK, it'll be OK," Cammie said in the same tone that Ginny had used with Laura.

"I'm afraid she's going to turn out like Tom," Ginny whispered. "I bet she's feeling betrayed and abandoned right now. That's how Tom felt, I'm sure."

"Tom?"

"An evil somebody that almost killed me when I was eleven and made me set a monster on the students at my school. And that was just his 16-year-old memory in the form of a diary. He was an orphan and grew up in an orphanage."

"Isn't there usually a long waiting list for a small child, though? She'll surely get adopted soon."

"I know, but still… it's awful. She's the most adorable thing you've ever seen, and she wasn't bothered at all by the magic. In fact, Tonks thinks that she's a Muggleborn witch. I hope to God she is. That way, I might be able to see her if she gets into Hogwarts. I'm not quite sure if magic people in America get accepted to Hogwarts."

"Ah. That makes _perfect_ sense. Can we bring Nick back in?"

"Go ahead. I'll go back to my friends' house. I don't really need to see you two shagging like Natalia and Fred."

"Ginny, we need to talk, all three of us."

"We do _not_. There's nothing to be said. I'm perfectly okay with you and him shagging each other's brains out. They're not my brains; he's not my boyfriend. Therefore, you can go and do whatever the hell you want to each other. I just don't want any part in it, thankyouverymuch." Ginny got up and walked out the door, stuffing her foot in her shoe on the way and pausing by Nick to say, "She likes Princess Diana roses best."

She went back behind the trees to Apparate to Number 12, Grimmauld Place. When she got there and stepped inside, her mother was dusting the tops of the portraits.

"Gin, what happened?" Mrs. Weasley asked when she saw her daughter.

Ginny shrugged and continued on to the living room. She sank into a chair, dropping her face into her hands.

"What's wrong?" she heard Hermione ask. She shook her head, her face still buried. Her mother's hands stroked her hair, brushing it away from her face, gently pulling it into a ponytail and letting it go, and starting all over again. Ginny shuddered with sobs, crying harder than she had at Cammie's, perhaps because she was among more sympathetic people and hadn't just been shocked by seeing her two best friends who had obviously just been having sex.

"They took her," Ginny choked out. "They took her and I don't know where she's going. I won't be able to see her."

"Oh, honey," Mrs. Weasley said, hugging her daughter. "Honey, sweetie, it's OK. It'll all be OK in the end."

"We'll find her," Hermione said reassuringly, but Ginny didn't believe her.

"No, we won't! We'll all be too busy looking for Voldemort to look for Laura." She spoke quite calmly despite the fact that tears were still cascading down her face.

"We'll look for her. Promise. What else is wrong? That can't be all…" Hermione said.

Ginny gave a wry smile. "Nick was in Cammie's house."

"…So?"

"Without a shirt on. And then Cammie admitted they were shagging like bunnies."

"I thought Nick wasn't your boyfriend," Harry said, coming down the stairs. Hermione threw him a scathing look.

"Harry, you're going to make things worse!" she hissed. Ginny laughed weakly.

"No, let him say what he wants to say. First Amendment." At their puzzled looks, she elaborated. "It's an American government law thing; never quite understood how it works. It's the right of free speech."

"What's going on down – Oh, Ginny, what's wrong?" Ron asked as he ran down the stairs. Hermione filled him in and he said, consolingly, "Well, it can only get better."

Ginny snorted and Hermione muttered something along the lines of _"men"_. It was enough to make Ginny laugh, and everyone looked relieved.

Suddenly the door banged open and in walked Sirius Black. _Wait, no, backtrack, _Ginny thought, blinking confusedly. Sirius had been dead last time Ginny was in touch with the wizarding world.

"Sirius?" she gasped. He looked at her, his brow furrowed.

"Do I know you?" he asked. She flinched and remembered that he hadn't seen her in nine years and that she'd probably changed quite a bit since she was 14.

"Of course you do, Sirius; you've known me since I was 13… at least, before you died. Here's a hint: I'm a Weasley."

His eyes widened. "Ginny?"

"Got it in one."

"But we all thought you were-"

"Dead? I could say the same for you. How did you come back from the underworld?"

"Harry and Remus resurrected me last year," Sirius said in a drop-it-and-leave-it-alone tone of voice. "And you?"

"I was never dead," Ginny said. "I was disguised in the Muggle world. I was Hermione's favorite author, actually. She never recognized me."

"No shit?" Sirius sounded impressed. "You spent five years as a famous author in the Muggle world?"

"You'd better believe it. Now, I'm hungry. When's dinner?"

"Dinner? I completely forgot! Thank you for reminding me!" Mrs. Weasley said, bustling into the kitchen. Hermione gave Ginny a last hug and trailed after Ginny's mum.

Sirius took a better look at Ginny. "Gin, why do you look like shit?"

"Because she's been crying," Ron said. "And she didn't get to bed until after two this morning."

"Why?" Sirius asked. Ginny shrugged and stood up.

"I'm going to help Mum and Hermione in the kitchen." She walked the path of Hermione and her Mum into the kitchen, leaving the men to glance at each other, puzzled.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was during dinner when it happened. Most of the scariest moments of Ginny's whole life happened that night, scarier, even, than when she set her clothes on fire using a gas stove (her house smelled of burnt hair for ages afterward). Mostly while she was under immense pain, but whatever.

Just as the main meal – lemon chicken – was served, Remus burst in, panting. He took a moment to regain control of his breathing and then gasped out, "They're coming."

"What?" Mr. Weasley asked automatically. Remus looked up at him, panicked.

"They're coming! Snape told the Death Eaters where the house is and they're coming! We have to leave!"

"Too late," a voice said from the door way. Everyone slowly turned their heads towards the door. At least thirty Death Eaters were there, all wearing their masks. The one in front was obviously a woman, and she was pointing her wand at Remus. The man pulled out his own wand and they circled each other. The other Death Eaters seemed to realize that Remus was Bellatrix's prey and only hers, and they didn't curse him, just turned their wands on the rest of the group.

_Great_, Ginny said as she started to duel with a random Death Eater. _Thirty to fifteen. Logic says we lose._

She Stunned the Death Eater and moved onto a different villain. This time, the Death Eater was laughing as he cast a curse that grazed her shoulder. She gasped in pain but ignored the crimson trickling from it and cursed him. Two down, a billion to go. The third Death Eater she could identify; the white-blond hair was a dead giveaway.

"So, Malfoy, you enjoying your new life? _Stupefy!_"

"_Protego!_ Yeah, it's got all the perks, Mudblood lover! _Crucio!_"

Ginny dodged it; it hit the wall and blasted a hole in it. "Don't say that word!" She hexed him.

_Brrr…_ Ginny thought as she dueled with another Death Eater. _It's cold- shit._ For in the doorway hovered five Dementors. Five, _five_. Ginny felt very weak all of a sudden. She could hear Riddle's voice in her head as she watched Harry conjure up a Patronus. His stag ran down a Dementor before evanescing into thin air. Ginny took a deep breath and quickly conjured her Patronus – and was surprised to see that it had changed from a tiger to a lion, which had been Laura's favorite animal.

At the same time as Ginny realized this, Malfoy recovered from his hex and yelled "_Crucio!_" The curse hit her in the side, and she fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Seconds turned to a minute, two minutes… Her eyes didn't seem to be functioning properly; they kept going black until finally they stayed black.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Gin, wake up."

No answer.

"Ginny, wake up!

No answer.

"GINNY, WAKE THE FUCK UP!"

"Mmph."

Ron sighed with relief as Ginny opened her eyes. She looked around and the blindingly white room, looking disoriented.

"Might I ask why you were swearing at me, Ronald?" she asked. "And why I'm here?"

"Well, you hadn't woken up when I called you the first couple of times," he said casually, as if she hadn't been in St. Mungo's Hospital and hadn't been unconscious a second before. "And do you really not remember why you're here?"

"I really don't remember," Ginny said, furrowing her brow and racking her brain for anything that might be relevant. She came up with nothing.

"Death Eaters attacked Sirius' house. Malfoy crucioed you until you passed out. Merlin, it must have been for ages, because we couldn't wake you up for three weeks."

"Oh." Ginny frowned, and then a memory hit her. "I think I remember… the Dementors were there, right?"

"Yes," Ron said, relieved. "There were Dementors and Death Eaters. It was thirty Death Eaters against fifteen of us. We defeated them, but…" he trailed off.

"We lost some, didn't we, Ron?" Ginny asked calmly, already knowing the answer. "Who died?"

Ron took a deep breath. "Remus died, Kingsley Shacklebolt died, and we all thought you would die. You don't know how close you were to death."

"But all that would have happened was I would be insane, right?"

"Not quite. The curse does more than just make you insane. Extended use of it can cause the vital organs in your body to swell and burst. Your organs were already swollen by the time we got you here. A few more minutes and…"

"And I would have died."

Ron nodded. Ginny sat up and leaned back, wincing and putting a hand to her ribs.

"I need to go visit Cammie and Nick. I really should apologize to Nick for throwing my shoe at him."

"Not in that state, you're not. You're not going anywhere until the doctors say you can."

"But that could be _ages_! Don't you think the public is going to notice when a famous author goes missing?"

"Well, she can be missing for a while. You need to rest and recover. You missed the funeral, though. It was a double funeral and Sirius was crying. You know Sirius; he never cries.

"I missed the funeral?" Ginny said, tears in her voice. But she wasn't surprised – wizarding funerals often took place very soon after the death. "What about Tonks?" Last time Ginny had been in the wizarding world, Remus and Tonks had been engaged.

"They broke up years ago. Tonks left on not very good terms with Remus for the States. But, unlike you, she kept in touch with the rest of us who hadn't made her mad." His tone was slightly accusing, but Ginny was spared an answer by Mrs. Weasley coming through the door.

"Ron, your shift's over, you can – Ginny!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah…" Ginny said vaguely. "I'm awake."

"Ronald, why didn't you tell me she was awake?" her mum demanded. "Ah, well, Ginny's up now and that's all that matters. Ron, go and fetch the Healer."

Ron nodded and left the room. Ginny's mother took the vacant seat next to the bed and started stroking Ginny's hair.

"Mum, I want to get out of here," Ginny said suddenly.

"We all want you to get out of here, too," Molly said soothingly. "But we have to wait for the Healer to make sure you're perfectly OK before you can go."

"Ahem." The two turned to face a serious-looking dark-skinned man in the Healer uniform. Ginny frowned; she knew that man. But she hadn't seen him in seven or eight years. He had been one of Harry and Ron's dorm mates, she was sure… what was his name? Ah, yes, she remembered now.

"Dean Thomas?" she asked. He nodded but concentrated on his work. Finally, he looked up.

"Good, Ginny, you're back to normal, or as back to normal as you can be after that curse. I'm going to keep you here overnight just in case. You can go in the morning. And I want you to take a couple potions every morning and one at night, OK?"

Ginny nodded. "What was wrong with me, Dean?"

He winced. "It's a pretty long list. Virtually every organ of your body except your brain was either enlarged or messed up. Your heart even stopped for a few seconds when they brought you in. There were a few other things from the curses after that, but we fixed those pretty easily. But, Gin, from what they said when they brought you in. it seemed like you were kicking butt out there. Good job."

He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. Immediately, Ron and the rest of the Weasleys came in, along with Harry and Hermione.

"Geez, Ginny, are you a magnet or something?" Charlie asked. "First the nightclub was attacked, then the apartment building, and now our… house!"

Ginny shrugged. "I guess I'm so good looking that the Death Eaters can't help but come near me!"

Ron snorted and Hermione elbowed him in the ribs. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"No, but really, I have no idea why the hell I've been attacked three times in the past one or two months. It doesn't make sense, unless they're stalking me somehow, in which case I'd better get out of here or else they'll attack St. Mungo's. Speaking of which, I want to get out." She crossed her arms and pouted.

"Hey, don't pout. Look what we brought you!" Fred said, dumping a load of candy in Ginny's lap.

"HEY!" Ron protested. "That's my personal candy stash!"

"Yes, and Ginny needs it more than you do right now. Go buy yourself some candy if you're so desperate."

"No," Ginny said, smiling. "Ron, you can have some. But I call all the Bertie Bott's and all the Chocolate Frogs. "

"Deal!" Ron said, helping himself to a Pumpkin Pastry.

"What time is it?" Ginny asked, looking around for a clock.

"It's eight o'clock PM," Bill said, speaking for the first time. "Visiting hours are over."

"Oh," Ginny said, disappointed. "OK then. I love all of you. Yes, even you, Harry, even though I still don't like you."

"We love you too," her brothers chorused and her mother hugged and kissed her on the cheek before getting up.

"Bye!" Hermione said as she walked through the door.

"Bye," Ginny whispered as she was left alone again, and she rolled over and promptly fell asleep.

----------------------------------------------------------

"Wake up, Ginny," a man's voice said, but it was only slightly familiar.

"Yeah?" she asked, opening her eyes, her voice thick from sleep. Dean Thomas, her healer, was standing over her.

"We have to do a last couple tests before you go home," he said.

"OK," Ginny said, brightening at the thought of going home. "What do I have to do?"

"Just lay still, if you can," he said, getting out his wand and waving it in some sort of complicated motion. She closed her eyes, getting dizzy from watching the wand.

"Don't fall asleep," he warned. She opened her eyes to see him putting his wand away and taking out a tiny vial of a cloudy potion. He handed it to her.

"Drink up," he said. She obediently drank the potion, gagging at the taste. _Why is it that all helpful potions tasted horrible? _she wondered.

"You can go as soon as your parents get here," he said. She scowled.

"But I'm an adult. Can't I sign myself out?"

"Sorry, Ginny, but it's hospital policy."

"Damn. Can I at least get dressed while I'm waiting?" Ginny had finally noticed that she was wearing a hospital gown.

He smiled. "Sure. Your mum put your clothes on the chair when she left. I'll leave so you have some privacy."

"Thank you," she said semi-sarcastically. He exited the room and shut the door behind him.

Ginny quickly threw on her clothes and sat on her bed. Her thoughts drifted to Laura: was she OK, had she been adopted yet, who were the parents… she wondered all those things, but deep inside she doubted she'd be able to every find out. After all, the Muggle population was quite big and Laura was an adorable girl, so she'd get snapped up quickly.

Finally, the door to Ginny's room opened and her mum stepped in.

"Oh, Ginny, you're getting out today! My, you look pale… are you alright?"

"I was just thinking about Laura. I'm fine."

"Oh, good," her mother said absently. "Well, let's get going."

"Right," Ginny said, standing up. "Let's go."

"We have to wait for Healer Thomas," Mrs. Weasley said. As usual, Dean appeared right away.

"Alright, well, I checked Ginny over this morning and she's fine. She might have some fatigue for a couple of days, but a simple strength-replenishing potion should help. Of course, we're not one-hundred-percent positive, as this seems to be a very isolated case, but we're pretty sure this is the case."

Ginny restrained the urge to gulp. Great, they didn't know exactly what was wrong or what to do. Wonderful.

"Ginny, I want you to take these potions, OK? They're labeled with when to take them and how much to take, so you'll know."

"OK, Dean. Can I go now?"

"Go ahead. I'll walk you out."

The three walked out to the Apparation station. On impulse, Ginny reached over and quickly hugged Dean. He smiled, bade her goodbye, and Molly Apparated with Ginny to their new Headquarters.

It was a rather nice house, as opposed to the peeling paint, dust-everywhere sort of look that Number 12, Grimmauld Place had. It was a little smaller than the monster of a house that the last Headquarters had been.

Ginny was immediately pounced upon by five brothers, all telling her how glad they were that she was back. That cheered her up a lot.

But what cheered her up most came at the end of the month in the form of a young woman about the same age as Ginny herself.

* * *

I'm hot and sweaty from weeding the sandbox (yes, the sandbox. It's old – think 13-15 years old – and it grows weeds like crazy) and I'm done with this chapter. No long A/N, although if you really like them, I can try harder next time, lol. 

P.S. Sugar free chocolate and caramel Creme Savers taste really bad when mixed with Minute Maid Light Lemonade. Just thought I'd warn you in case you ever decide to try it. It's icky. –makes a face-

P.P.S. If I sound stressed in the next week, it's because my friend had a bad reaction to his migraine medicine and he's having memory problems now and I'm really worried. He might not even recognize me when he sees me next (which won't be tomorrow at school, since he's not going tomorrow). That really sucks. He's the first guy friend I've ever had, and for that he's kind of special. (I don't like-like him at all. At ALL. Just get that clear.)


	8. Trained Gerbil Army

**Disclaimer:** standard disclaimers apply.

Well, next chapter is the last! I'm glad all of you like it (although I think the characters come out rather one-dimensional). I do not have much of the sequel done; I have a bit of writer's block on it. I'll try to write it the best I can during study hall and homeroom.

I'm sorry if there are mistakes in this chapter; I'm really tired (I've been getting about two or three less hours of sleep than I usually get for the past few nights, and I don't function well on anywhere between 7-4 hours of sleep. Yes, that's a lot for some people, but I'm special.) ANYWAYS… I'm still really busy with school and stuff, and I haven't been on the internet pretty much all week.

On a brighter note: I got my braces off yesterday and I don't have to get a retainer until next Thursday! w00t! Hello, caramel and sticky foods! And gum, we can't forget gum! (Our teachers let us chew it in school unless they see it… and they have selective vision)

So yeah. You probably won't be seeing the last update from me until next weekend, BUT I might be able to post on Sunday during my mom's big work party at our house (100 people at the last count; I'm going to barricade myself in my room with Stella and the computer)

Now, without further ado, I'd like to welcome you to chapter eight of (drumroll, please) "Coming Home."

* * *

"And guess who our new member of the order is!" Harry said, standing in the doorway of the living room.

They had been living in the new headquarters for almost two months now – only one month for Ginny – and they had launched a silent campaign to replace Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt. This was the first person they'd successfully not scared off.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Who, Harry?"

He stepped aside with a flourish. "Dun dun dun DA!" There in the doorway, smiling shyly, was…

"Kristi?" Ginny gasped. The girl smiled.

"In the flesh. And I know you're Ginny, even though you look kind of different. Paler. You look more tired than you used to, flutterball Ginny."

Ginny smiled weakly. "That's what happens when you get hit with the Cruciatus curse for minutes at a time."

Kristi gasped. "You weren't!"

"Wanna bet? I have the Healer papers to prove it."

Kristi stepped forward shyly. "Can I give you a hug?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "'Course you can! I'm not about to break."

Kristi laughed and flung her arms around Ginny. Ginny put her arms around her and hugged her back, pleased that her best friend from school was now with her. Molly hadn't allowed her to go out of the house ("You're still weak, and you're a magnet for trouble!"), and she was going crazy with boredom.

"So what have you been doing?" Ginny asked. "I haven't talked to you in _ages_! I suppose you broke up with Sean?"

"Well, we were engaged, but I had to break it off to be here," Kristi said casually. Ginny gasped.

"That's horrible! You broke up with him just to be part of the Order?"

"You act like the Order's not more important than love," Harry remarked accusingly. "It's more important than anything!"

"You didn't think so at the end of your fifth year, Harry. And I didn't say that. I'm willing to risk my life for the Order, and I think I've shown that."

"Yes, I suppose you have," Harry said grudgingly, and turned away and walked up the stairs, probably to complain to Ron that his sister was being a prat.

"Who stuck the pole up his arse?" Kristi whispered to Ginny, and they giggled like they were back at Hogwarts.

"What're you laughing about?" Charlie asked, coming into the room. "Oh, who's this?"

"I'm Kristi," Kristi said, putting her hand out. "I'm the new member of the Order."

He shook her hand. "In that case, nice to meet you. I'm Charlie." He wandered off in the direction of the kitchen.

A brown-haired blur came speeding across the room and crashed into Ginny, saying, "Ginnyginnyginnyginnyginny!" Kristi looked at the little girl amusedly.

"And who are you?" Kristi asked Lily.

"I'm Lily," Lily said politely, smiling her innocent smile. Kristi immediately melted the way that most adults did when they saw Lily. She _was_ cute while she wasn't being a terror. She had already gotten ahold of Ron's wand once, making carnivorous pink bunnies out of Hermione's favorite books. They had crept through the house, attacking any living thing that they came across. Well, except Lily. Lily stayed perfectly unharmed.

"Lily, why don't you go draw us a picture while I show Kristi around the house?"

"No, I wanna help show her around!" Lily whined. Ginny restrained the urge to roll her eyes and instead forced a smile.

"Alright, Lily, you can come."

Lily broke out in a smile and she took Kristi's hand. Ginny heaved a sigh. _Here we go_…

"This is the entryway. Over there is the kitchen, and in front of you is the living room. There's a bathroom in the back and another one upstairs. I suppose you'll be rooming with me."

"OK… Ginny, you're still so pale!"

"I'm FINE!" The statement came out as more of a bark than a simple declarative sentence. Kristi looked hurt.

"Well, OK then. Forget I said anything. What's upstairs?"

"Upstairs is the bedrooms and storage." Ginny led the way up the stairs. Lily evidently got tired of being there, as she darted off to her own room, leaving two tense adults behind.

"So, Ginny, what've you been doing all these years?" Kristi asked. Ginny shrugged.

"Moved to Muggle America," she said casually. "Tried to adopt a little girl, but I was too late for her."

"Aww, that's sad," Kristi said, not sounding very sad. "Must've been difficult for you, Ginny, with all that going on. Now, tell me, were there any guys in your life?"

Ginny almost choked on her own spit. "Yeah, right. There was one almost, though."

"What happened?"

"He was shagging my best friend while I was trying to save peoples' lives and fight Death Eaters. And when I was handing Laura over to the police."

"Who's Laura?"

"The little kid I wanted to adopt. Her whole family was killed, but I saved her life. Anyway, in the Muggle world you can't just take an orphan and keep them; that's called kidnapping. I had to take her to the police and give her up for adoption, even though, and especially because, she wasn't mine." By the time the explanation was done, Ginny was nearly in tears.

"Ginny, don't cry," Kristi said soothingly. "Come on, let's go to your – our – room. Is anyone else around? All I've seen so far are you, Harry, and Charlie. Don't tell me that's all."

"No, it's not," Ginny said. "There are all sorts of people that come in and out all the time, and I have no idea where they are." Ginny walked up the stairs, leaving Kristi to follow. Kristi did, and Ginny opened a door down the hall to the right.

"Ta-da. Our room."

It was a very plain room, with two beds and two dressers. There was a mirror on the wall, and a lamp, but not much else. There was a wood floor and the walls were green.

"It's… nice," Kristi said politely.

"It's the best we've got at the moment," Ginny said. "I'll admit, it's not beautiful, but it's enough. It's home, at the moment, and that's good enough. As long as we know we're safe, we're good."

"Well, that's good, I guess…" Kristi said. "Hey, what do you guy do for fun around here?"

"Knit," Ginny said, and then laughed at the expression on Kristi's face. "No, we don't knit. I swear. We read, or we play with Lily, or we talk. Or we go out, but since the Death Eaters seem to be more active around me, I generally stay in."

"Let's go out," Kristi said, a scheming look on her face. "We could drag Harry to a strip bar, or a nightclub, or…"

"No nightclubs," Ginny said firmly. "No strip bars, either. I want to visit my friend Cammie. Care to come with me?"

"Sure," Kristi said. A tsk-ing noise came from behind them. They turned to see Hermione.

"Hermione, what are you _tsk_-ing about now?" Ginny asked. "We were about to go visit Cammie so she can tell the Muggle world that I'm retiring and won't be writing any more books!"

"That's why I'm _tsk_-ing!" Hermione said. "It's not exactly safe to go out to a friend's house when you're a magnet for Death Eater attacks! Not only would you be putting yourself in danger, you'd be putting your friend in danger, too!"

"Oh, stuff it, Hermione," Kristi said nastily. She had never liked Hermione at school, and it apparently wasn't going to change now that she would be working with her. Hermione looked insulted.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. C'mon, Ginny, let's go."

"Not if you're going to be mean to Hermione. She helped me."

Kristi gave an exaggerated sigh. "_Fine_. I'm sorry, Hermione."

Hermione just gave a haughty sniff and went on her way towards the kitchen.

"What is it with people and poles up their arses?" Kristi whispered to Ginny. Ginny shrugged.

"I dunno, I haven't noticed it. I'm going to make dinner with Mum; you can do whatever."

"OK." Kristi drifted off in the direction of Lily's room.

Ginny walked to the kitchen where her mother, Hermione, and Charlie were. Her mum and Hermione were making dinner and Charlie was sitting at the table and offering unsolicited cooking tips. _Men_.

"Oh, Ginny," Molly said. "The potatoes need peeling. And don't use magic; it diminishes the taste and texture of the potatoes."

Ginny obediently picked up the knife and started peeling the potatoes.

"Where's Kristi?" Hermione asked, dislike evident in her voice. Hermione didn't hate Kristi; she _loathed_ her. The feeling was mutual. Kristi despised Hermione just as much.

"She went to play with Lily, I think," Ginny said.

"Dear God," Hermione groaned. "I don't want Lily around her."

Ginny hid a smile as she put the potatoes in the pan full of boiling water. "She was pushing going to Cammie's."

"Yeah, well, that's Kristi. The social butterfly."

"Just because you only had two friends in your Hogwarts days doesn't mean the rest of us can't have more," Ginny pointed out. Hermione scowled.

"At least I had better friends than yours. Mine are still here with me."

"Geez, you make it sound like my friends died. Only Scarlet did, and that was because Death Eaters killed her and her family. It wasn't her fault."

"I never said they died, or that it was their fault if they did. All I said was-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. What else can I do, Mum?"

---------------------------------------------

"But I want to meet Cammie!" Kristi whined.

Ginny looked at her amazedly. "You never give up, do you? You've been asking me for a week and a half now! What's it matter to you if I go see Cammie or not?"

"I want to meet her! I've never had an actual conversation with a Muggle. Can you believe that?"

"She's rather odd. I don't want you to get the wrong idea about Muggles."

"Please?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Argh, _fine_. We'll go tomorrow."

"All right! I'm going to bed now. G'night!" She practically ran up the stairs. Ginny stared after her, confused.

"It's only eight…" she muttered.

"She's up to something," Hermione said, appearing behind Ginny. "I wouldn't go if I were you."

"Well, it's a good thing that you're not me, huh?"

-------------------------------------------------------

"Well, are you happy now?' Ginny asked. Kristi grinned.

"Of course!"

Ginny faced her seriously. "Kristi, I swear, you have to answer this honestly. Are you doing this with a motive, or is this completely innocent?"

Kristi gave her an incredulous look. "Are you kidding me?"

"Answer the question, Kristi," Ginny answered, crossing her arms.

"Good Gods, Ginny! It's totally innocent!" Kristi exclaimed, throwing up her arms. "When have I ever given you reason to distrust me?"

"When you went to bed at eight last night," Ginny said, but felt relieved. "Come on, let's go. OI! Mum! We're going!"

"OK," Molly called from upstairs. "Be back by dinner!"

"We will; we're just going to say hi. Send a search party if I'm not back in twenty minutes," Ginny answered. She led the blonde girl outside and told her the location. After Kristi had gone, she Apparated to Cammie's house. Looking around, she didn't see Kristi.

_Maybe she's in the house already_, Ginny thought, hoping Kristi had made it. She made her way into the house and rang the doorbell. No answer. She ran the doorbell two times, knocked loudly, and called, "Cammie? If you don't get the door, I'm breaking in!"

A high, piercing wail rang through the air. Ginny's Order instincts kicked in and she burst into the house before the fact that the scream sounded like a more-terrified version of Cammie's spider-scream sunk in.

"Where are you, Cam?" she called, thinking immediately after that that was probably the worst possible things she could have done. No matter; the house was silent until another shriek emitted from the upstairs. Ginny climbed the stairs, carefully avoiding the creaky fourth stair. At the top stood Kristi with her wand drawn and an evil look on her face.

"Hello, Ginny-Gin," she said. "Come to enjoy the view?" She gestured to the bedroom where Cammie sat, her eyes wide with fear. She was trembling.

"What did you do to her?" Ginny hissed. "She's innocent, leave her alone. It's me you've got a problem with it, not her!"

"Oh, it's not you we've got a problem with either, Ginny. It's Potter, who will undoubtedly be here in about 15 minutes. Probably sooner because he's protective of you."

"Why were you threatening Cammie, if she and I aren't your targets, Kristi?"

"I'm not telling, Ginny. Telling one's plans is the mark of an arrogant amateur," Kristi said, rubbing her inner arms as if she was cold. Ginny knew better.

"You're one of them, aren't you?"

Kristi smirked. "Why would I tell you? But, since you'll soon be oh-so-tragically killed, I guess I can tell you. First, though…" she muttered something and ropes bound Ginny, knocking her wand out of her hand. Kristi laughed. "That was easy. Yes, I am a Death Eater. I'm surprised it took this for you to figure it out."

"When? Why?"

"Two years ago, and I don't believe it's your business!"

"What happened to the sweet little girl I met when I was 13 and I loved to be around?"

"She was a front, a fake. That me existed only when I needed her to. My father beat me, didn't you know? And you never noticed! Maybe if I had a true friend, one who picked up on the abuse, I wouldn't be here like this today. It's your fault, Ginny."

"How touching," a voice behind Kristi sneered. Hermione stood there, her face contorted in dislike.

"Talk about touching," Kristi sneered. "The Mudblood is coming to save her friend. Isn't that sweet? And you know what's eve better? Soon Potter will come to rescue both of you, and the Dark Lord will triumph!"

"Triumph over what, his trained gerbil army?" Ginny asked, referring to an inside joke she had had with Kristi. Kristi smirked.

"I knew you'd bring up our gerbil army," she said smugly, "so I made it the codeword. The others should be here in five-four-three-two-one-here they are."

As she counted down, Death Eaters Apparated into the room with loud 'pop's.

"Oh, shit…" Ginny muttered as she tried unsuccessfully to cut her bonds and get her wand. "Not good, not good, not good."

"Are you kidding? This is excellent!" Kristi exclaimed. "I've got you, the Mudblood, and a Muggle!"

"What did we ever do to you?" Hermione asked, apparently forgetting she had a wand.

Kristi laughed. "Well, you were a bitch and Ginny never noticed anything, although she was the closest thing I ever had to a friend, so she can die last. The Muggle… well, she's just a Muggle. She can go first."

"Ex_cuse_ me?" Cammie said indignantly. "I am a much better person than you ever were and ever will be, whoever you are. I don't go around killing people."

"Don't talk again. _Crucio_!" Kristi obviously remembered she had a wand and that her fellow Death Eaters were in the room.

Cammie convulsed, screaming in pain. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell unconscious. Ginny remembered that Cammie had an extremely low level of pain tolerance.

"Leave her ALONE!" Ginny shouted from her spot on the ground. "She never did anything to you!"

"She was born," Kristi snarled.

"Did you know that your precious Lord Voldemort is a half-blood? His dad was a Muggle," Ginny said. "So you might as well attack him for being a half-blood."

At that, all the Death Eaters' wands were pointed at Ginny, who laughed. "Are you going to kill me? I die last, remember?"

"Not if you keep it up," Kristi growled.

"Just kill her already!" a gruff male voice said from the crowd. Kristi fidgeted.

"I'm waiting for Potter to get here. He should be able to witness his girlfriend's death before the Dark Lord kills him."

"I'm not his girlfriend!" Ginny contradicted. "He doesn't have one, so you can't use that against him."

"He still loves you. He'll come and try to rescue you," Kristi said confidently, pointing her wand at Cammie. "But in the meantime, _Avada_-"

"Expelliarmus!"

Everyone turned towards the entrance as Kristi's wand flew into the hand of a tall figure silhouetted at the top of the stairs.

"Harry!" Hermione was first to speak. Ginny was next.

"Get your arse out of here before _he_ comes! He's got you outnumbered by far! Hermione and I can take care of ourselves."

Harry wasn't listening. He was too busy staring at Kristi, who had put on a black mask while everyone was staring at the Chosen One, aka Harry Potter. "_You_."

"Me. What a surprise, huh? The brand-spankin' new member of the Order, a Death Eater. I fooled you, huh? I passed all your tests."

"You _bitch_!" Ginny snarled.

Kristi shrugged. "Hey, you can't win them all. I'm perfectly happy about where I am today. It's _your_ position I would be more inclined to worry about."

"Less talk, more action!" a voice in the crowd said and a Death Eater pushed their way towards Ginny. Cammie lay still in the corner; nobody bothered with her for now.

"No!" Hermione, Harry, Ginny, and Kristi called simultaneously.

"Why do you say 'no'?" the offending Death Eater asked Kristi.

"Because the Dark Lord wants Weasley alive, along with Potter. Says he's got a surprise for her. Have fun with the Mudblood, though."

Hermione screamed and Harry crossed the room to stand in front of her. He pointed his wand at the crowd, where it should have been long ago.

"If you want her, you'll have to go through me," Harry hissed. Ginny attempted to stand up, but, as she was bound at her ankles and wrists (and her wrists behind her), she found herself quite unable to get up.

"There will be no need for that," a high, thin voice said from the corner. "You may take the Mudblood and the Muggle and do with them as you like. In fact…" There was a hiss of a spell and the room faded for Harry and Ginny. When they could see again, they were alone with Voldemort in a familiar place.

* * *

Cookies who can guess where they are! It's REALLY easy. I'm sure you could guess in a second. 


	9. The End?

Oh, my, God. I'm SO sorry; I didn't mean to leave you hanging (or on solid ground, whatever) about this. I've just been SO BUSY, as in I don't get to bed until 11, which is late for me. Anyway, I don't have time on the Internet or computer. I might not have as much homework since I dropped down to regular Algebra II (as opposed to Honors) after failing three quizzes/tests in a row. Eek. But that won't matter because this is the last chapter! I've been quite lazy on the sequel and only have a bit written, so don't expect it to come out anytime soon.

Also, I'm really not sure if this chapter is good enough to be an ending chapter. I haven't even looked at it in a month or so. So if you think it needs to be rewritten, say so. I'll try and rewrite it in the next year or so if enough people want it to be done.

Onward!

* * *

The Chamber of Secrets. They were back in the Chamber, the very place where she was nearly killed when she was eleven. The thought nearly petrified her. (No pun intended) 

Lord Voldemort seemed to read her thoughts. "Scared of this place? I thought you would be. That's why I brought you here."

"You bastard," Ginny hissed. "How dare you? And how did you know, anyway?"

"Ah, so you admit it… and I had a little help."

"From whom?" Harry asked, squinting around the Chamber of Secrets in hopes of seeing the help. A black-haired boy – teen, really – stepped out of the shadows into torchlight.

"Me," he said. "Dearest Ginny, you've grown since you were eleven. You're no longer a little girl; now you're a woman. A beautiful one."

"And I'm older than you, Tom. Your mind games won't work on me. I'm immune to them."

"Are you sure, Little One? I cannot call you Little One anymore. I shall call you pet, for that's what you were. How can you be so sure you're immune to my 'mind games', as you put it?

"I was _not_ your pet," Ginny hissed. "Untie me so we can settle this like adults." She could vaguely hear Harry and the older Voldemort exchanging threats, but she was so angry that she didn't care to listen.

He smirked. "But, Pet, you are once again at my mercy. I specifically requested you as my prize. You belong to me now. You are in my domain; it would be unwise of you to anger me."

Ginny rolled her eyes, still not paying attention to the duel going on beside her and Tom. "Oh mighty great one, will you please cut my bonds?"

"That's better, but no. I like having you tied up like that. I have more power and control over you this way."

"Ooh, I'm shaking. You really need to work on the intimidation factor in your statements. They're rather lacking."

"Don't chide me on intimidation, or anything for that matter!" He raised his wand. "_Crucio_!"

That immense pain that had haunted her dreams wracked her body, sending her into howls and screams of agony. After what was most likely a second, but what seemed like hours, days, years, the torture stopped and the haze cleared from Ginny's vision.

"What the hell was that for?" Ginny asked rudely.

"You annoyed me," Tom said flippantly. "I'd recommend you don't do it again."

"No kidding," Ginny muttered. She shifted her arms behind her. Wizarding knots were incredibly strong, but they had a weakness in the form of a single thread. If you could find it and pull it, it would come undone.

Aha. There it was. Ginny smirked and pulled it, releasing her hands, but kept said body parts behind her back. No sense in showing Tom her achievement until the opportune moment.

"Oh, Pet. You need to learn how to keep your mouth closed," Tom said. "You always had problems with that. It's a shame you haven't grown out of it yet."

"You knew me as a silly eleven-year-old only; of course I was stupid. I'm sure you were stupid when you were eleven, too. Of course, you never grew out of that, either," Ginny taunted. As Tom's face grew red and he began speaking a curse, Ginny rolled over and grabbed her wand, letting the purple beam of light hit the stone ground harmlessly. She shot to her feet.

"Surprised, Tom? I learned a few things from you, but I'm not telling what they are," she said, her smirk dropping as his surprised look turned to fury.

"You've displeased me three times now. You're too much work to keep alive. _Avada Kedavra!_"

Ginny sprang away as the spell whooshed by. Fire was dancing in her eyes as she pointed her wand at Tom.

"I can't kill you, since you're a younger _him_," she spat, gesturing at the older Voldemort, who was still locked in the epic battle between himself and Harry. "But I can sure as hell defend myself. _Incendio_!"

Tom's robes started on fire, but he quickly extinguished it with a stream of water from his wand. Steam hissed and his eyes were as venomous as Ginny's.

"You dare put yourself against Lord Voldemort?" he growled. "Very well, although I must say I am disappointed in you. I expected great things from you."

"Expected great things from your 'pet'? Excuse me, but I've done greater things than you, if you look at it the right way. And you're not Lord Voldemort. Not yet. You're still sixteen, and I'm twenty-three."

"And I'm still stronger than you, Ginevra Weasley," Tom said lazily as he waved his wand and pain shot through Ginny's wand arm, making her lose grip on her wand. It fell to the floor and rolled towards Tom, who picked it up. Ginny watched him with wide eyes as he examined it.

"Nice wand, must've cost a lot of money. Wonder where you got this; surely your family didn't have enough money. Did you steal it, perhaps?"

"I didn't steal anything," Ginny spat. "I'm not like you. Give me back my wand and fight like a gentleman."

"Now, this is right where you were before, helpless and wandless. I- oof. Get off, you stupid girl!"

Ginny had lunged forward and grabbed his throat. He wrenched her off and threw her to the ground. She got up dazedly and snatched for her wand.

"Give me that!" she shouted. Tom chuckled.

"Now, Ginny, why would I do that? You're so much more fun when you're angry and helpless, like twelve years ago."

"Twelve years ago is a time I'd like to forget. That includes forgetting you."

"Well, dearest Pet, you're down here in the Chamber with me and there's nothing anyone can do about it."

"Liar. Harry can get us out," Ginny said, inching away. "And you know what? Screw you. I'm going to help Harry. You're not worth my time."

Harry and Voldemort (the older one) had not wasted time in idle conversation and were rapidly throwing curses at each other, both knowing as well as Ginny did that this was going to be the Last Battle. And what better place for both Voldemorts to die than where they started, in the Chamber of Secrets?

_OK, think_, Ginny thought, although it was hard to think with Harry and Voldemort shouting curses and Tom sidling up behind her. _What can I use? I need to get my wand, but that's impossible…_

"I can hear your thoughts, Pet," Tom said from behind her. Ginny turned around and grabbed at the wand that Tom was holding, accidentally smacking Tom in the face and drawing long red marks on said body part with her nails. _Shit…_

"Bitch," Tom said lazily. "_Crucio_."

Ginny dodged the curse and it hit Voldemort Sr., much to Tom's horror. He lifted the curse at once, but it had been enough. The older Voldemort was pissed.

And, a second later, dead as Harry hit him with a beam of green light. Tom didn't die right away; he let out an anguished wail and a stream of curses that Ginny had never heard before he faded away. Ginny's wand clattered to the ground.

Ginny and Harry looked at each other with mingled horror and hope.

"Did you beat him?" Ginny asked breathlessly.

"I don't know," Harry said, kicking the older Voldemort who was lying prone on the floor. Voldemort didn't move, and now he was shrinking and shrinking until he was nothing.

"Guess he didn't want anyone studying his body," Ginny said, raising an eyebrow. "Poor guy."

Harry looked at her incredulously. "Poor guy? Are you out of your mind?"

"Nope, but you'll be out of yours if we don't get home soon. You look exhausted and killing someone who's connected to you probably isn't the best thing in the world for your mind, although it was probably better in the long run. How do we get home?"

"I don't know… last time we were down here, we got up through Fawkes. He's not here right now."

"No kidding," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "I hadn't noticed. OK, let's concentrate." She closed her eyes for a second to think and then opened them again. "Harry, there's something wrong here. This isn't the real Chamber; I can hear voices talking somewhere else."

Harry cursed. "Leave it to him to trick us." He closed his eyes, listening intently. "Damn him," he said, opening his eyes. "This was all a trick. You're right; this isn't the Chamber. It's a trick of our minds."

"I'm not following you. All I want to know is how we get out."

"We have to concentrate and break through the barriers that hold us from reality. Reach out with your mind and push at them until they break."

"Harry, that sounds really corny."

"Just do it."

Ginny took a deep breath, held it, and let it back out. She closed her eyes and obeyed Harry, concentrating as hard as she could at mental barriers she wasn't even sure existed. Beside her, Harry disappeared with a 'pop!' She bit her lip and tried harder, but only succeeded in giving herself a headache.

Taking several deep breaths, Ginny concentrated all her anger from Kristi, the two Voldemorts, and herself at the imaginary barricades in her mind. The walls began to bend and warp under the pressure.

She pushed harder, and suddenly they broke. She was abruptly thrown through a dark tunnel, quite different from when she had come. She flew through the tunnel for what seemed like ages. When the darkness cleared from her vision, she was lying in a bed in a strange room. It was still dark, but there was enough light emitting from a single lamp dimmed by a fabric draped over it to see.

_How strange_, she thought idly, turning over to go back to sleep.

"Don't go back to sleep," a hoarse voice said from her right said. She looked over to see Harry in a bed exactly like her own, propped up on his elbow.

"Why not?" she asked, her voice as hoarse as his voice, if not hoarser.

"Because they haven't seen you awake in a few days. Everyone's been worried sick about you. We were afraid you weren't going to make it."

"But what about you? You were in there too… You also had to get out."

"I've had much more practice manipulating mind stuff than you. I was able to get out several hours ago."

Ginny shifted up to her elbows also. "Why did you come, anyway?'

"Come where? To the Chamber? I didn't have much choice."

"No, to Cammie's house! Hermione and I could've held our own!"

"Are you kidding me? You were tied up and Hermione was petrified! You guys couldn't do anything!"

"Ex_cuse_ me? I managed to get myself out of those ropes, I'll have you know!"

He smirked. "Yeah, after half an hour and we were in a whole different environment."

"Yeah, a more stressful environment! I bet you'd rather have the Death Eaters than Voldemort himself, and so would I!"

Harry was spared answering by the arrival of several people.

"Wotcher, Ginny," Tonks said brightly. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

The light turned on and Ginny groaned and shaded her eyes. "God, could you make it a little lighter? I can still see."

The lights dimmed a little and she carefully took her hand away from her eyes. In the dimmed light she could see Tonks, her family, and Sirius.

"Hi," Ginny said uncomfortably, sitting up. Her mother hurried to her and gently pushed her back down.

"Rest for now, Ginny," she said softly. "And then we want to hear what happened. Harry gave us his story, but we need yours."

"What's there to say? Voldemort's dead, both of them," Ginny said. "Where are Hermione and Cammie?"

"Hermione's in the next room," Fred said. "And as for your friend…" He glanced at his mother for help.

"She's been Obliviated," Molly said gently. "She doesn't remember anything about magic. She remembers you as a friend who she had a fight with and lost contact with. The rest of the world will just have to deal with the loss of you."

Ginny looked down. "Oh."

"Oh, Gin, don't look like that! You're lucky to be alive!" Ron said from the doorway. "Besides, it's over now. You-Know-Who is gone and we rounded up most of the Death Eaters after Hermione had the presence of mind to put an Anti-Apparation charm on the house and trapped them all in the house."

"It's over," Ginny repeated, a smile tugging on her lips. "It's over."

* * *

But is it REALLY over? It is until I get off my arse and write more. I've just got so many ideas for stories that I have to try out and dump. Becki knows all about my process, just ask her. 

**PREVIEW OF THE SEQUEL (if it ever comes out):**

Ginny Weasley had a policy about her life. It was to try something new every day. Usually it was trying a new food out, or trying out a new sport (Quidditch was still her favorite, followed by the American game of Quadpot). Today she was going out on a limb and extending her policy to include doing things that she had always wanted to do.

It was one of the biggest decisions of her life.


End file.
